Mortal Kombat: Existence
by NEM3SIS
Summary: MK: Existence is the first part of a trilogy. It tells about the last great war between Edenia and Outworld, the rising of the Deadly Alliance, the struggle for freedom of the Earthrealm warriors and the return of an enemy of the past.
1. Prologue: In the Beginning

**PROLOGUE: IN THE BEGINNING**

_7990 B.C. on the Earth Realm calendar_

_Free Realm of Edenia_

Queen Sindel, a slender, almost fragile woman, stood on the balcony of her palace, which rose high like a giant stalagmite over the Great Plains of Edenia. With her dark eyes she watched over the balustrade. From a distance she could hear the roaring sound of a waterfall. Way down beneath the decorated balcony the dewed grassland began to shimmer in the first sun light of the day.

It was very early in the morning. Suddenly a cool wind came up and blew through the queen's hair. But the chilling temperature didn't bother Sindel at all. She enjoyed watching, as the rising sun chased away the twilight of dawn and brought back the large variety of colors to the world. There was nothing else a human eye would have enjoyed more.

"A realm like in a fairy tale," Sindel thought by herself.

She wished she had more time to enjoy the wonderful sight. It has become a daily ritual ever since she was crowned queen, to stand on the balcony of her palace and to wait for the sun rise. But there were tasks a queen had to fulfill, a queen who reigned a whole realm on her own.

One of her main tasks was to maintain the relationship to the huge neighboring realm Outworld. Back in the days, when the king still was alive, they always shared their duties. While it was the duty of the king to represent Edenia's interests, Queen Sindel stood by his side as the royal councilor and gave him advices on all main questions. She followed him onto every public assembly, but always kept her presence in the background.

But now, the king was dead, he died after many long years of illness. It was then that all tasks passed down to the queen. From time to time she was asked if she wanted to marry once again; and there were many in the rows of the aristocrats who would have immediately made a proposal, for Sindel was doubtlessly a woman of captivating beauty. She had long black hair that reached far down her back, her light-colored skin was smooth, and her oval face was combined with cheek-bones, which were rather clear-cut for a woman. Her graceful appearance would show kindness and strictness at the same time.

But she never took into consideration to marry once more. She was proud to be the one and only queen upon the five known realms, who reigned a realm all by herself. Although there were times, when she considered her duties as strenuous or even tiresome, she still had to admit that this was her imagination of a fulfilling life.

"Edenia is ruled by a queen. And one far day, when I'm called to the Elder Gods, there will be once more a queen who reigns over Edenia," Sindel thought. Before the king deceased, Queen Sindel gave birth to a daughter. Princess Kitana was still a child, who just past her tenth birthday, but in a few years Sindel would send her to a special academy where she received lessons about government laws and negotiation strategies.

"Mylady, a visitor just arrived," said a female servant who just entered the private chamber. "He awaits your majesty in the audience hall."

Sindel turned around and scrutinized the servant with a quick glance. Her uniform was flawlessly clean and without any wrinkles. Her hair was tied to a pony tail, her face didn't show any emotions.

"Who is it?" asked Sindel.

"It's Lord Feron, Ambassador to New Realms," answered the servant.

"Tell Lord Feron that I'll go see him in just a minute," said Sindel.

"Very well, Mylady," said the servant. She bowed and then left the queen's room.

Ambassador Feron didn't come very often to the royal palace, for he lived quite far away. But when he came, he always brought some interesting news along. Sindel was curious to find out what it was this time.

As announced Lord Feron, the Ambassador, was waiting in the audience hall. Feron was a small man, not much bigger than the queen. His hair was short cut. He wore a black coat of weatherproof material. In comparison to it, his face seemed pale, almost white. His eyes looked tired, as if he hasn't slept for nights. His cheeks were sunken in, as if he hasn't eaten anything for days. He tried hard to keep his stance up straight, but the consequences of his strains could not be overseen.

"You look pretty exhausted," said Sindel "You didn't have to come here all by yourself, there are easier ways to reach me. A letter for instance would have sufficed."

"This I am fully aware, Mylady," said Feron "but in this case I had to come here personally. I have something to discuss, and it's of major importance..."

But the queen didn't seem to listen. His speech was suddenly interrupted. "Tell me, Lord Feron, how is your daughter doing?"

"Eh... I beg your pardon?" Feron was slightly confused, he didn't expect the question. "My daughter? Well, she's fine, thank you for your regards."

"I seem to be a little bit forgetful these days," said Sindel "What was her name again?"

"Her name is Tanya," Feron answered, though he was a bit puzzled. He couldn't imagine that the queen had really forgotten her name. She and the princess were born in the same year, only two months apart.

"Tanya," repeated Sindel thoughtfully "what a beautiful name!"

"My late wife chose the name," said Feron. He seemed to get a bit sad at the remembrance of her.

"I'm sorry," said Sindel. She fell silent for a few seconds, then she said: "You know, I would like to hear more about Tanya. We should continue our conversation while having breakfast."

"I don't mean to show any disrespect, Mylady, but there are these important matters that need to be discussed. There is no time to waste."

"Having breakfast is no waste of time," Sindel said smiling. "And by the way, if you die from hunger, you won't be able to tell me the message anymore, right?"

Before Feron could answer anything, Sindel had already rung a bell. Almost immediately after, a servant entered.

"You have a wish, Mylady?"

"Yes, tell the kitchen to prepare breakfast. And... Lord Feron is going to join me."

"Very well, Mylady," the servant said and left the audience hall with a bow.

Only a few moments later Sindel and Feron were conducted into the dining room by two servants. There they found a richly set table. There was a basket with fresh bread, in addition there was butter and a great variety of cheese and pâté. On a smaller table was a basket with all kind of fruits. A pot with steaming coffee was placed next to it, and its fragrance filled the whole room.

The queen and the ambassador took seat opposite to each other, and while they enjoyed the breakfast, they continued their conversation from earlier. It was then that Sindel learned that Tanya was very much interested in history and ancient documents. She also had a certain talent for languages.

"Well, it seems that she will maybe become a historian or a translator one day," said Sindel.

"No, Mylady," answered Feron "she will most definitely become either one."

They both laughed over his joke, then Feron turned serious again.

"Mylady, I would now like to talk about the matter I came for," he said.

"Right," said Sindel "So what is it?"

"I have the information that the emperor of Outworld is gathering a huge army at this very moment. Their intention is to attack and conquer Edenia," Feron said.

Sindel put down her coffee cup and looked straight into Feron's eyes. Her expression was anxious. "I have to admit that this is completely new to me. None of my spies has spotted anything suspicious during the last few months."

"Your spies won't detect anything because the emperor knows very well to operate from the hidden."

"May I ask then from where you received your information?" asked Sindel.

"A few weeks ago I was visited by one of the emperor's generals who wanted to defect. And then I started a few researches on my own, I can confirm his information."

"Well, it is no secret that it is the emperor Onaga's greatest desire to conquer Edenia and to claim it as his. Nonetheless he should know that such an act offends the rules of the Elder Gods. They would definitely stop his ambitions. That is why I wouldn't take his attempts too seriously."

"Yes, but something obviously changed. Shao Kahn, the general who informed me, told me that Onaga has found a way to deceive even the Elder Gods themselves, so that they would not intervene this time."

"It would be bad, if it indeed came to a war against Outworld, really bad," said Sindel thoughtfully. For a short while she fell silent. "Before I make any decisions, I need proofs for Onaga's action, and I need them fast. Bring me the results of your investigation as soon as possible. For my part, I will sent out more spies, if you tell me, what they should look for. It would also be helpful if you could arrange an encounter with this general, Shao Kahn."

Ambassador Feron bowed. "Of course, Mylady. I will do what I can."

After Feron was gone, Sindel returned to her private room. She felt uncomfortable and in need of fresh air. When she stepped out on her balcony, the sun was covered by dark clouds, as if they knew about the coming events. A harsh wind made the queen shiver.

"Something is going on. Whatever will happen next, it could be the end of the world as we know it," she thought before returning into her room again.

_7983 B.C._

Princess Kitana flinched, when she first heard the long and bloodcurdling scream, and shortly after a heavy bump onto the floor. Almost immediately after there was a big commotion outside the palace. Quickly she closed the book about ancient Edenian history, which she had been reading, and ran out of her room, across the large main hall to the entrance of the palace. When she arrived there, she found almost every single servant standing there in a chaotic formation. Some of them were crying, others had a totally shocked expression in their faces, unable to move anywhere.

"What happened?" Kitana asked a female servant, the first one she met. But she received no answer. The servant was like petrified. Kitana pushed her roughly aside and made her way pass more and more deranged people.

"What happened?" she asked time after time. No one answered her, until she saw the reason for their peculiar behavior with her own eyes. Someone was lying in the grass. It was a woman. Her body was so terribly distorted that it looked like a big puppet, which was thrown away carelessly by a girl, after she had lost her interest in it. Next, Kitana saw the blood on the ground, there was blood just everywhere. And finally, after what seemed an eternity, the princess recognized who it was. It was Sindel, her mother, the shining queen of Edenia. She rushed forward, stumbled and crashed on her knees, but she didn't pay attention to the pain. She closed her arms around the body, ignoring the blood which soaked her blue dress, turning it darker, almost black. She pressed the body hard to her own, as if the queen could be revived only by her embrace.

But no matter how hard she hugged the body, it would make no change.

No miracle occurred.

Sindel was dead.

"What the hell happened?" Kitana asked again. Her voice was shaking and could hardly be heard.

"She stood on her balcony, just like every morning," finally someone answered. "And then she just jumped off." After a short pause he added: "I'm sorry, Mylady."

"It's okay," Kitana said quietly, wiped with her hands over her eyes and slowly stood up. It was then she realized that Shao Kahn has appeared. He must have gotten out of bed not long ago, he just wore a bathrobe and walked barefooted. And it was the first time for many of the servants to see his face which was hidden behind a skull shaped mask most of the time.

"Kitana, are you okay?" he asked. His voice was unusually kind.

Kitana looked into his eyes, but they were just as hard and cold as always. There were no emotions in them, not a single bit.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered with a tired tune.

"Are you sure?" asked Shao Kahn.

"Look, I just want to be alone now, please!"

Shao Kahn stepped aside and let the princess pass. She returned to her room and sat back down at her desk. She grabbed the book she was reading earlier and tried to continue, but the attempt was in vain. Tears came to her eyes, making her vision blurry. Suddenly she felt an uncontrollable anger swelling deep inside her. In fact, she knew the reason why her mother ended her life. She knew whose fault it was. Shao Kahn was the one to blame, but it was not only him. Lord Feron, the father of her best friend Tanya, was just as guilty as her stepfather. Kitana felt a hatred towards these two people so strong that it almost ripped her apart. With one single move of her arm she wiped over her desk, making everything on it fall to the floor. Finally she couldn't resist her tears anymore. She broke down and cried.

It all began with a simple conversation between Lord Feron and Queen Sindel. She decided then to meet Shao Kahn, the general who wanted to defect. So Feron arranged an appointment between them. All information Feron had gathered seemed to be true, Onaga was indeed putting up a large army to conquer Edenia. Shao Kahn, while most trusted by his lord, convinced the queen that a war could only be won with a preemptive strike. When asked about his own motivations Shao Kahn for defying Onaga, he told about the oppression of the people of Outworld, that the emperor enslaved many people and let many others starve in the cities. At least that was what Shao Kahn said.

Sindel accepted Shao Kahn as an ally. Together they carefully planed their moves and attacked Onaga's army. Eventually the Edenian forces won. Onaga himself was killed by an unknown attacker during the chaos. But Edenia paid a high price for the victory. Many cities were devastated, and many men and women lost their lives in a war which raged for almost four years. Nonetheless Sindel and Shao Kahn were celebrated as heroes who have freed Outworld from tyranny. Soon after they both married, and everything seemed to work out fine... at first.

But as the days passed by, Shao Kahn revealed his true intensions. He actually was worried about the people of Outworld just as much as Onaga. What he really wanted was to become emperor of Outworld himself. His true intention was to become emperor of Outworld himself. With his scheming he reached his aim, and he achieved even more. By marrying Sindel he now also was rightful king of Edenia. With the help of a mysterious artifact he found in Onaga's palace he began to merge Edenia with Outworld. Sindel was aware of his doings. She tried to defy him, but found herself helpless in front of him.

All this Sindel tried hard to keep hidden from Kitana. But when the young princess grew up, she learned about the truth. And besides, there were things one couldn't hide, not even from a child.

When Kitana recovered, she picked up her things from the ground. Still she had this image of her dead mother in front of her mind's eye. Her distorted body, the purple dress which was her favorite, the blood which appeared so intensively red compared to her hair which was white like snow...

Suddenly Kitana felt that there was something wrong. When she saw her mother the last time it was at the night before. Until then her hair still was black and perfectly dressed. It must have changed its color over night. Kitana rushed out of her room. She had to see it one more time, she had to convince herself that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her.

But when she arrived at the entrance area, she saw that the body wasn't there anymore. All servants had returned to their jobs, as if nothing ever happened.

A few men in dark blue robes were standing at the spot where the body has been. Kitana knew who these men were. They called themselves "Clerics of Chaos". They were brought in by Shao Kahn and worked for him. Kitana had no idea, what exactly their job was, but she didn't like them, and in this moment she hated them even more.

"Where is my mother?" she asked the first one she saw.

"His majesty ordered some of his Shadow Priests to bring her to her private room," the man answered. He had his cape pulled deeply down to his face, so that Kitana could hardly see his eyes. "But I must warn you, if you want to see her. Her room is well guarded by Shadow Priests. They won't let anyone pass."

"Then I'll just have to distract them!" Kitana replied.

With big steps she ran up the big staircase, crossed the long upper hallway to the end. There was the door to her mother's room. But other than told, there was no guard to be found; the door wasn't even locked.

"So much for the orders," Kitana thought by herself.

When she entered, she saw Sindel lying on her bed. Her hands were folded across her chest, her long white hair were combed straight down her shoulders, her eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping peacefully. Seeing her like this made the tears return to Kitana's eyes. She knelt down by her side, took her hand and cried silently.

Suddenly she heard steps coming closer. When she turned around, she saw Shao Kahn standing in the doorway behind her. He was now dressed in a silver-gray shirt, a pair of dark red pants and heavy leather boots.

"You really shouldn't be here," he said. His voice was totally calm.

"What happened to mom?" asked Kitana. "Why is her hair all white?"

But Shao Kahn ignored her questions. "I'll have a horse prepared for you," he said instead. "Go for a ride, the fresh air will do you good. Come on, let's go."

Together they left the room. That was the last time for a very long period that Kitana saw her mother. Many centuries later she would learn about the true plans Shao Kahn had in mind, how he wanted to use the queen to reign over all realms, even over the Mother Realm.

But that is another story.

Two weeks later 

Feron, the Ambassador to New Realms, was sitting at the small table, when Tanya entered. She carried a plate with some steaming bowls on it. Of course Feron too had servants to prepare every day's meals, but on this day he has sent them home earlier. That was nothing unusual to Tanya, he always said he liked the food the most which she prepared. She didn't know if it was the truth or if he just said it to flatter her. But he really seemed to enjoy Tanya's meals, and that made her happy.

"So, what do we get today?" he asked.

"Your favorites," Tanya answered. "Rice, pork with vegetables in a spicy sauce and squids with black beans."

"You don't have to trouble yourself so much," said Feron

"Nonsense, it was no trouble. Cooking is fun!"

She sat down at the table. Together they ate silently. There was a time when Feron talked a lot, and they had quite a few interesting conversations. But since the war began, he closed himself more and more. And after the queen died, he hardly talked at all. After a while Tanya began to feel uncomfortable.

"Is something wrong, father?"

"No, everything is fine," Feron answered hastily. "It's very delicious, like always."

"Well, that's not what I meant," said Tanya.

Feron fell silent for a while again. "Once there was a man, who believes that his doing is right. He believes it so much he is ready to risk everything. But in the end it turns out as a mistake..."

"Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, right?"

"You're right," said Feron. "But what if it was a really big mistake?"

"Wait a second, you mean the thing about the queen, don't you?"

"You know, it has haunted me ever since," said Feron. "I was the one who gave Shao Kahn the chance for his uprising. I have awoken a war, but what for? Just for one tyrant to be replaced by another one. And now even the queen is dead, the only person who was able to keep the balance. Now Shao Kahn can do anything he sees fit."

Being ambassador also gave Feron the knowledge about Shao Kahn's ambitions to become the ruler of all realms. But he could only to talk about it with her daughter, for he always had to fear that someone else could betray him and denounce him in front of the emperor. A severe punishment would doubtlessly have been the consequence.

"You're too hard to yourself," said Tanya. "No one is able to foresee the future."

"But I'm the ambassador," said Feron. His voice was getting louder. "I could have acted wiser. I should have known that power is something dangerous. It darkens the hearts and poisons the souls, and there is no one who can resist."

"But power can be used to do something good, right?"

"Do you really think so?" asked Feron. "Well, maybe you're still to young to understand it..." He put down his rice bowl on the table and stood up. "Thank you for this splendid meal, my dear."

"But you haven't finished yet," said Tanya.

"I'm very tired today," Feron said. "I'd like to rest now."

Tanya watched her father leave the dining room. Somehow he seemed to have aged a lot. His body was sunken together, and his movements were very slow. After a while Tanya heard the door of his sleeping room closing.

Tanya tried to continue eating, but her head was full of thoughts and unanswered questions. She couldn't find peace of mind, so she stood up and walked over to her father's room. When she knocked at the door, she received no reply. Carefully she opened the door, and what she saw, took her breath away.

Feron sat in the middle of his room, with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He has taken off his shirt and put it neatly folded on his bed. All around him there were candles lit, which gave the room a yellowish, flickering gloom. In front of him, on a silver plate, lied a hunting knife with a long obsidian blade.

"Father? What does it mean?" asked Tanya. "What are you doing?"

Slowly Feron opened his eyes. "Too many people died because off me," his said with a calm voice. "I will only be able to atone my sins by committing Hara Kiri."

"No, don't do it! I beg of you!" Tanya said. Tears rolled over her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Tanya, but I have no choice," Feron took the knife with the dark blade with both hands. He held it so tight that his knuckles turned white. And then he spoke one last time: "May the Elder Gods forgive my deeds, because I cannot."

"No!" Tanya screamed, but it was no use. Feron stabbed the obsidian knife deeply into his abdomen, and with a quick movement he pulled it up towards his heart, before he sank down like a heavy flour sack.

Tanya couldn't remember anymore what happened next. She could only assume that neighbors rushed in when they heard her screaming. The next thing she recalled is that she woke up in a huge, soft bed in the Royal Palace, which was so far away from home.

That was when Kitana, the young princess and her best friend Tanya found themselves on the second funeral ceremony in one month. Shao Kahn ordered a decent burial on the Aristocrats' Cemetery as an appreciation of Feron's work in life time. After the ceremony both girls separated themselves from the others and went to a place where they were alone. They sat down on the lawn, leaned on each other back to back and told themselves stories about the relatives they just lost. They didn't stop until there were no memories left untold.

"I'm very sorry for what happened," said Kitana after a long break.

"You don't have to be," said Tanya. "We have both lost someone we loved very much."

Kitana nodded silently, not realizing that Tanya couldn't see her.

"If you were given one wish, no matter what it is, what would it be?" Tanya asked after a while.

"Well," Kitana was thinking for a few seconds. "I wished there would never be war again, anywhere."

"That's a nice one," said Tanya. "I like it."

"What about you?" asked Kitana. "What is your wish?"

"I wished I had the power to change the world" said Tanya without hesitation. "Then I could make it a place without war. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Well, if that is what you want, then you will need powers equal to the Elder Gods. That's a bit scary."

"If that is what it takes, why not?" said Tanya.

"I think that's what you call heresy," Kitana said, laughing out loud. But then she realized that Tanya wasn't laughing with her. "You weren't serious about it, were you?"

"I was," Tanya replied. "Never been so serious before."

"Well then, goddess," said Kitana and stood up. "Let's head back before they start looking for us."

The two girls ran back, side by side, towards the descending sun. The thin clouds above them glowed in a red light, as if Vakron, the god of fire himself, had lit them up.


	2. Chapter 1: Destruction

**CHAPTER 1: DESTRUCTION **

_Presence_

_Hong Kong, China_

_Mother Realm (Earth)_

Liu Kang sat in the middle of a big courtyard and practiced his meditation like every morning. His eyes were closed, his legs crossed and his back up straight without being stiff. His hands rested on his knees with his palms up. His breath was slow and calm. Someone who saw him by chance could have thought that he has fallen asleep. But he hasn't. In contrary, in that very moment he was sensing many things someone else wouldn't even have noticed.

It was early in the morning, the sun was just rising, letting the courtyard shine bright, as if it was a field of gold. In a few hours the court would be filled with students, eager to learn the art of fighting of the Shaolin monks. Therefore they would split up in groups of two, and while one of them only concentrated on attacks, the other had nothing else to do than to defend himself effectively. The roles were changed every thirty minutes, giving the defender the chance to attack. Someone untrained would certainly collapse in less than thirty minutes as a result of exhaustion. To prevent this, the students also took special lessons to learn the right breathing technique and the way to focus their chi, their inner energy.

True skill does not require strain.

Liu Kang learned all these lessons himself long time ago. Now he was a master and passed what he has learned to new pupils. Everyday he checked if his students learned their lessons well. And he would teach them to scream out loud with every attack they launched. This way they would keep their energy in a constant flow. In a few years, when they learned how to manipulate their own energy flow, they won't need to scream anymore. But for now each of his days was filled with incredible noise.

That was exactly the reason why he always meditated so early in the morning, no matter if the sun was shining or if it rained or even snowed. This was the only calm and peaceful time of the day. It was perfect to find peace in mind. It was the time when Liu Kang could leave all his sorrows and longings behind, which found their way into every single heart.

Becoming champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament granted Liu Kang not only eternal youth, but he was also given the choice, either to return to earth to train more warriors for the coming tournaments or to follow Princess Kitana to her home realm Edenia to aid her with the repair of the damages Shao Kahn caused on his rampages so long ago. Liu Kang has made his decision.

"Home is, where the heart belongs," said once a friend.

Liu Kang's heart belonged to Earth Realm. He never regretted his decision, but sometimes he imagined how his life would have been at the royal palace of Edenia, side by side with a woman he still was very dedicated to.

The sound of fluttering wings suddenly broke the silence. A swarm of sparrows which has been sitting in a big tree, flied up into the sky. Liu Kang opened his eyes and followed them with a glance.

When he looked behind himself, he saw that a man has appeared at the entrance of the temple. He was about the same age as Liu Kang. He wore a dark blue, sleeveless vest and black slacks. On his head he wore a hat with a broad brim which protected him from the sun rays.

"Kung Lao!" said Liu Kang "It's been too long."

"Yes, you're right," said Kung Lao. "time passes by so fast..."

When Liu Kang was about two arm length apart from his friend, he was overcome by a strange feeling. He felt a dark aura surrounding Kung Lao, something that indicated that his heart was tainted by an evil force. Liu Kang stopped at once.

"Is something wrong, my friend?" asked Kung Lao.

"I am not your friend," said Liu Kang steadily. "and you are not Kung Lao!"

Kung Lao, or correctly, the man Liu Kang at first thought to be him, remained silent. Instead he just revealed a hellish grin. Immediately everything about him was changing. His features turned stricter, his hair longer, a long goat beard grew on his chin. Even his clothes changed, the hat disappeared. When the transformation was finished, he wore a fire red robe like ancient feudal lords in the past days used to wear. The man standing in front of Liu Kang was no longer Kung Lao now, but Shang Tsung, the most evil sorcerer the Mother Realm has ever seen.

"You disappoint me, champion," Shang Tsung said sarcastically. "Your abilities seem to have decreased. I could have sneaked up on you effortlessly and killed you with a single blow!"

Liu Kang cursed silently, for he had to admit that the sorcerer was right. He should have sensed Shang Tsung's presence earlier.

But what worried him even more was the fact that he dared to step onto sacred ground. This wasn't just an ordinary temple, this one was led by the Council of the High Priests who vowed to the Elder Gods themselves. An action as the one by Shang Tsung would definitely be taken as an offence, therefore he had to fear severe consequences. Yet there was nothing but confidence in Shang Tsung's eyes. Was there something Liu Kang had overseen? Was he underestimating the evil sorcerer?

"How dare you trespassing to this sacred ground? You were forbidden to come here!" Liu Kang shouted.

"I don't care about those stupid and worthless rules", Shang Tsung replied. He was still grinning. "However, you should know that I'm a fair player. So, I shall give you a chance to defend your own life and the good name of the temple. I challenge you in Mortal Kombat!"

After he said that, he took his fighting stance. He stood on one leg, lifting the other until it was in a rectangular position to his upper body. Next he raised his hands high above his head, his fingers were slightly bent, imitating the beak of a bird.

"You possess the insolence to use the Crane-style?" asked Liu Kang. "Very well, your insult will be punished!"

"Then bring it on!" Shang Tsung said, he was still grinning. "But be careful, maybe it's you this time who receives the punishment!"

_Meanwhile,_

_somewhere in the United States_

Sonya Blade ran along the coast of a lake, there she turned east, towards the rising sun. Soon she arrived a spot where the water was relatively shallow, going deeper bit by bit. There she turned again and continued running right next to the lake. She raised her speed and kept it up for the next five minutes. Then she gradually slowed down until she stopped. She looked back the way she came to estimate the distance she had put behind her. Five Miles in half an hour, she was in good shape, not that she had ever been slow on her legs anyway. While catching her breath Sonya looked out onto the lake.

She could feel the strain of her walk, and she was feeling very hot. She had to admit that the water had some kind of a seductive force on her. It was a shame she didn't bring her swimming suit along. Of course she was trained in life guarding back then when she was still in the army, and that contained swimming as fast as possible while having full clothes on. But the bad part about it was that afterwards she still had to walk back all the way while her clothes would be heavy as if she was carrying a bunch of bricks with her.

But on the other hand, this was the last day of her vacation, she won't be seeing such a beautiful lake for quite some time. The next day her turn to work at the new Outworld Investigation Agency headquarter began. The bad part of this job was that the new headquarter was not only situated in Alaska, but in addition it was built several feet underground.

Of course she knew that it was thanks to the efforts of her and her partner Jax the Agency was founded, and she felt truly honored about them even having put up a new building for it close to the dimensional portal which was found in an ancient underground cave in Alaska. But each coin had two sides. A working period took one year. There were no exceptions. This meant that whoever was in turn to work at the headquarter, had to leave behind his family, friends and beloved ones for a whole year. Some said time would fly by when one started working, but still it was a long period, a damn long one.

Sonya made up her mind. She just had to embrace nature while she had the chance. She looked carefully around her to make sure there were no unwished watchers around. Since the founding of the OIA she has become some sort of a celebrity. She could almost see the headline of the next day's boulevard press:

LIEUTENANT SONYA BLADE OF THE OIA SPOTTED NAKED IN A LAKE

And the subtitle would be:

SHE LOOKED HAPPY!

When she had ensured herself that there wasn't anyone around, she undressed herself. Within less than half a minute, all her clothes were lying on the floor, and less than ten seconds after that she was at a spot where she could easily dive under. The water wasn't actually cold, it was icy, but Sonya enjoyed every single moment. Within a short time she was in the middle of the lake. If she had her clothes with her, she would have swum all the way to the other side, but as this wasn't the case, she turned and began to make her way back.

When she was about half way to her goal, she suddenly felt a strange loss of strength. Maybe it was because she got into a quick water flow. At any rate, she found herself struggling hard to avoid being carried away. With a swift movement she turned to her back to have it a bit easier. On the very edge of her visibility she could see that she floated off course quite a distance. She spent every last bit of energy on her concentration to return back to where she should have been. Maybe it was her desperation which made her stronger, without halt she continued forward. Finally she was back at the coast again. When she got out of the water, she felt so exhausted that she had to sit down to catch her breath.

It would really have been a shame if she drowned after having absolved the final test for a rescuing swimmer as the best in her class. But she was sure she would remember this day when having a boring time at the OIA headquarter. When she recovered, she quickly slipped back into her clothes and began to walk back.

When she was on the road again, Sonya heard someone calling her name. She turned to the direction and saw Jax running towards her.

Jax was her partner for a long time now. She couldn't remember anymore when they started to work together. But together they fought against many threats, coming either from Earth Realm or from Outworld.

"Finally I've found you!" he said "Next time you go on vacation you should leave a note on your whereabouts."

"Better not", Sonya replied "or I'll never come to rest. But why are you complaining? Now you're here, right?"

"Yes, now I'm here" Jax repeated, then he realized something. "Hey! You're dripping!"

"Yeah, I took a swim in the lake", Sonya answered "I needed to cool myself down a bit."

"I see", Jax said with a certain curiosity "but how did you manage to keep your clothes dry?"

"I took them off, you smart-ass", Sonya said. But she very soon regretted having said that, for Jax tried hard to look serious, but could not completely hide the grin of a teenage boy who had some naughty jokes in mind.

"Oh man, I'm such an idiot!" Sonya said "Why did I have to tell you this?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad you did," said Jax "and don't worry, I have myself under control. Really, I do."

"Yeah, sure", said Sonya who didn't seem to be convinced. "So what was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow morning?"

"Well, I have some good and some bad news", Jax said. Suddenly he turned far more serious than just a second ago "Which one do you want to hear first?"

"No one wants to hear a bad news first," said Sonya. "So tell me the good one."

"You don't have to travel to Alaska tomorrow," said Jax.

"Why is that?"

"And that's the bad news. There has been a huge explosion in the HQ", Jax said. "According to satellite photos the building has been completely destroyed."

"Oh my god!" said Sonya. She fell silent, unable to say anything. "What about the crew that was working there? There were six men and four women."

"I'm afraid no life signs were detected. We have to assume that they're all dead", said Jax.

For a while Sonya just stood there without saying anything. Many thoughts rushed through her head. Then she awoke from her apathy.

"Okay", she said "just give me half an hour, I'll get packed."

"Alright", Jax said "I can drive you to your hut. My car is just back there." He pointed with his hand somewhere into the direction he came from. a few minutes ago.

Sonya nodded.

"By the way, how did you learn about this place?" Jax asked "This is really out of nowhere!"

_Los Angeles, USA_

_Mother Realm_

"Damn!" David Wieland said to himself, as he ran quietly through the narrow hallway of a motel which had definitely seen better days. While walking, Wieland hoped that no one would come along his way. Anyone would have most likely screamed or produced some other treacherous noise, for he carried a gun on his belt and had no jacket to hide it. He just wore a pair of old blue jeans and a white T-shirt.

"Why is it always me who has to do the dirty jobs?" he asked himself silently "This is my last one. Tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of my life…"

But at the same time Wieland knew that this was easier said than done. And there were several reasons for this:

Reason number one: Everyone had to earn his life in one or the other way. No job, no money; no money, no living place, no food, no nothing. Wieland chose his way to earn money as a private detective. If he gave up this job, what should he do?

Reason number two: There were people who needed his help counting on him. He couldn't turn them down simply because he wasn't in the mood.

Reason number three: Although he was thinking of it otherwise right now, he actually liked his job. He liked the feeling knowing that he just helped someone who was really in trouble. He wasn't that arrogant to assume he could change the world into a better place all by himself, but making a single person feel better was a good beginning to start with.

His latest client was a rather good looking lady with brunette hair who believed that her husband was betraying her with another woman, because he would very often return home late at night and come up with some obscure excuses.

So she came to Wieland one sunny afternoon and asked him to observe her husband.

"Nothing easier than that", Wieland thought at first. But as he proceeded with the investigation he found out the husband wasn't actually meeting a woman but rather a man named Keith Henrikson. Next he found out that Henrikson was involved in several illegal weapon deals. But before he could inform the police, he found out that the wife began to do researches on her own. The real big trouble was that she was not only spotted by Henrikson, but even managed to get herself kidnapped by this man. Wieland now had no choice but to follow the weapon dealer. And that was how David Wieland ended up at this dump.

He was lucky, no one saw him. The whole motel was calm. Wieland continued forward until he reached the door with the number 19 on it. This was it, it was the room where Henrikson checked in. Before Wieland came here, he had a peek a the guest list at the cashier. And there was only one Henrikson who checked into room 19.

Wieland wanted to take a quick look though the window which was next to the door, but the curtains were closed. Next, Wieland discovered the door wasn't properly closed, it was only leaned on. Wieland pulled his gun from his belt, held straight ahead and slowly entered the room.

It was an ordinary motel room like all the others with two beds and a large wardrobe. In the middle of the room there was a chair. A brunette woman sat on that chair, it was the lady who asked for his help. She was bound with the curtain rope, and a piece of isolation-tape was fixed over her mouth. As a result she could only make some mumbled noise, and she rolled wildly with her eyes. Other than that, the room seemed to be empty. Henrikson was gone, at least the woman was still alive and unharmed.

As Wieland approached the woman her eye movements became wilder and the noises she made indicated that she was in a panic. Suddenly Wieland realized she wasn't rolling her eyes randomly but staring in one direction, in the direction of the door...

Wieland whirled around, but he was too late, Henrikson sprung his attack from behind the door and kicked the gun with a high kick out of Wieland's hand. The weapon flew up in a high bow and landed in the far corner of the room. While Wieland still was struck by surprise, Henrikson turned an ran out of the motel room.

"Shit!" Wieland cursed and decided to run after Henrikson instead of picking up his gun. "Sorry, Lady", he said to the woman "I'll free you later!"

He ran out of the room and saw Henrikson about to vanish around the corner. With big paces Wieland followed him. Very soon it turned out that Henrikson ran into a backyard without doors. Now he was trapped.

"This is the end, Henrikson!" Wieland shouted from behind "There's no place left for you to run!"

"Fine!" he shouted back to Wieland. "Let's end this. But I won't make it that easy for you!"

Wieland approached Henrikson, and while he was walking, he said: "I must admit that you're quite skilled in your fighting techniques. I never saw someone do that kick before…"

Suddenly Wieland saw a strange figure dressed in white in the far corner of his view. For a moment he was distracted and didn't realize he was only about one arm length away from Henrikson. As a result Henrikson caught him off guard, took the chance and punched him right to his face. Instantly Wieland screamed out in agony.

"Ouch! Shit! You hit my nose!"

"Yeah right!" Henrikson said. "Come here so I can hit you some more!"

"No!" Wieland shouted. "You really did hit my nose! Argh… shit!"

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Henrikson suddenly discovered. He stopped his attack at once.

"That's what I'm telling you the whole time, damn it!"

"Cut!" the voice of the director shouted from the background. Instantly some people ran by and brought some tissues.

"I'm sorry, Johnny", the man who played the part of Henrikson said. "But you were supposed to dodge that one. We practiced it long enough, right?"

"It's okay," said Johnny Cage. "I didn't pay attention."

Meanwhile the director descended from his high chair and walked up to the two actors.

"What the hell was that?" he asked

"Sorry", Johnny said, still holding his nose. "I screwed it up."

"Don't say! I saw that", the director said. "What was the matter?"

"I was distracted", Johnny said.

"Distracted? By what?"

"By a man", Johnny answered.

"In case you're not aware of it, there are dozens of men standing around here", the director said, and Johnny granted him a look which could have killed him right there. "Well okay, I guess there's no point about discussing it further. Are you alright? Are you able to continue?"

"Yes, I think so. I don't think that anything is broken. But it hurts like hell. Just give me a few more minutes, okay?"

"Alright, guys, fifteen minutes break!" the director shouted to the staff.

Johnny Cage turned around and walked towards his trailer. In some way he felt exactly like David Wieland in the movie. He got more and more annoyed playing this figure. He never wanted to play in a David-Wieland-movie again. He wanted to stop playing the action hero and try out something new, maybe in a comedy or a drama. Yet he was convinced by an old friend, the director, to do it one last time in a movie with the title "_A Peaceful Mind_".

As he arrived in front of his trailer, he saw the man dressed in white again. So he was right, the man who caught his attention and led to this little accident was nobody less than Raiden, god of thunder, one of the eighteen remaining Elder Gods and, most important, protector of Earth Realm.

"Impressive performance", Raiden said. His voice was calm as always. "I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. Is it something serious?"

"It's okay", Johnny said "it stopped bleeding. So, how did I get the honor of your visit?"

"I'm afraid I have to bring you bad news", Raiden said "there is a war coming up…"

"Oh well, I guess I got used to it. We've fought Shao Kahn already twice, we even challenged Shinnok", Johnny Cage answered. "I'm sure we'll make it this time as well."

Raiden began to smile, but his eyes were looking sad. It began to trouble Johnny. When even an Elder God started to show emotions, there was definitely something wrong.

"This time it's different", Raiden said. "It is a war that is able to make even the heaven tremble. And a loss would mean the end of all existence." He handed a piece of paper to Johnny. "Come to this place tomorrow night at ten. Hurry, there is no time!"

"Now you're freaking me out", Johnny said and took a look at the paper. There were some numbers scribbled on it. "And no time for what?" But when Johnny looked up again Raiden was gone, he vanished into thin air, like he always did. He came and went just as he pleased.

"Huh, great", Johnny mumbled. He looked at the paper once again. The numbers written on it weren't just numbers, they were coordinates, and in a strange way they looked familiar to Johnny. And then he remembered, this was the place where the ship took off, when he and the other chosen warriors traveled to Shang Tsung's island, where the very first Mortal Kombat Tournament took place. Johnny suddenly had a bad feeling about it.

"Oh well", he said to himself "at least I'll have an excuse for not finishing this stupid movie."

He went into his trailer, quickly packed his stuff together and left the setting without saying a word to anyone.


	3. Chapter 2: Azure Eyes

**CHAPTER 2: AZURE EYES**

_Lung Hai Temple_

_Headquarter of the Lin Kuei_

_Mother Realm_

At the side of a small lake, which was covered with a thick layer of ice the whole year over, was situated, well hidden from all unwanted observers, a large building complex. This was the Lung Hai Temple, the hideout of the Lin Kuei which was named after the lake. It was certainly quite an exaggeration to call the small pond "dragon ocean", but the ancient grandmasters always used to have a favor for extraordinary names. And it hadn't changed, not even since Sub-Zero overtook the employment as grandmaster and reformed the clan.

Since the founding days of the clan the grandmasters were in search for the offsprings of an mysterious folk. Those people were said to possess the power to control the cold. The founders of the Lin Kuei wanted to create a line of perfect assassins who were able to complete their missions even in the most adverse circumstances. And it was thus this plan which gave the clan its name: Lin Kuei, the "secretive organization of the cold".

Indeed there were two clan members who were absolutely unaffected by low temperatures. In addition they possessed the outstanding ability to freeze things simply by touching them. One of them was Sub-Zero, the recent grandmaster of the clan. The other one was his brother who used to bear the same name. Sub-Zero couldn't remember anymore how they both got into the clan. It seemed that they lived their lives in and for the clan as long as he could remember. On the other hand, they had no time to think about their origin, for the clan continuously sent them onto missions in Outworld.

For many centuries the grandmasters served the emperor of Outworld with devotion. Every time the Outworld army went on a conquest there were some Lin Kuei members going along. Often it were Sub-Zero and his brother who went with the Outworld army. It was a time full of rage and violence. The two brothers somehow managed to survive every time, while they witnessed the death of countless comrades. But although they both knew that the luck wouldn't be on their side forever, they never turned their backs on the clan or questioned their ambitions. In contrary, they were proud to be chosen to fight for Shao Kahn. And when they returned victorious, they were even prouder.

As payment for the support the grandmasters received not only a decent amount of platinum and gold coins or gems, but also a personal permission of the emperor which allowed the members to enter and leave Outworld whenever they desired. This contract was more valuable to the clan than all platinum coins Outworld could offer. It was rumored that somewhere in the barren wasteland of the realm existed a hidden cave which was fully consisting of ice even though the surroundings had a tropical temperature. And so the ancient grandmasters used the permission of the emperor to search for that cave. If they were successful in their quest, they would have approached a great step to their goal. Then they would finally get to know the origin of the two brothers and how they and their ancestors were able to control the cold, if there was this folk in the first place.

But the search remained without success.

Many decades have passed since the glorious days of the Lin Kuei. After the chosen Earth Realm warriors had won against Shao Kahn's henchmen in the latest war, the structures within the Lin Kuei began to decay. All the former grandmasters either went into exile or committed suicide. That was the time of Sub-Zero's return. He wanted to draw a closure line under his own past and reform the Lin Kuei. He wanted to start things from new, he wanted to protect the Mother Realm against the evil he himself once considered as an ally.

One day Sub-Zero discovered a hidden library chamber of the clan. Inside he found many scrolls with ancient writings. Obviously the grandmasters had written down every single step of their quest. For the first time Sub-Zero began to think deeper about his own origin. But to be honest, he didn't believe in those myths and legends, he didn't believe in the existence of the mysterious folk the clan was looking for. He believed that his abilities were nothing more than a mere coincidence, a whim of nature. But then he had to admit that he was wrong.

Because one day he met her...

_One year earlier_

When Sub-Zero started to reform the clan, he banished all members who still vowed to the ancient grandmasters. In the end, only those were left who swore to follow Sub-Zero's orders. As they were not more than a fistful of warriors, Sub-Zero decided to recruit new members. In the following weeks the Lin Kuei headquarter more or less became a public school for martial arts. Many candidates came to register, and many were refused because they either lacked strength, skills, will or all three at the same time.

Within the candidates was a young woman at the age of her beginning or mid twenties. When Sub-Zero met her personally the first time, she sat on the opposite side of the desk in his office. He had given her a glass of water from which she sipped from time to time, as if drinking any faster was a sign of impoliteness.

Two things about her were very significant. Firstly, there were her eyes, which had the blue color of the sky on a sunny day. They reminded Sub-Zero of his brother who had just the same blue eyes, a result of the Kori power he possessed. It had always been stronger than the power of Sub-Zero, what probably had its reason in their difference of age. Secondly, and this was even more surprising, the young lady had very light colored hair, in spite of her rather dark skin tone. The hair had a slightly bluish shine and glimmered in the light. And after a while Sub-Zero knew what it was: her hair was frozen by thousands of tiny ice crystals, it was...

"Frost..."

"Huh?" the women looked up with a surprised expression in her face.

"You could have the power to control the cold," said Sub-Zero "but instead the cold is controlling you. That is why you have frost on your head."

"I... eh... I have this as long as I can remember," she said. "It only disappears when I wash my hair with hot water. But it always returns soon after automatically. That's why my friends named me Frost..." She laughed without humor, apparently she felt uneasy when talking about the subject.

"Have you ever frozen things?" asked Sub-Zero.

"Yes, I have a refrigerator at home," said Frost. She spoke with such innocence that Sub-Zero had to laugh out loudly.

"Excuse me, but did I say something funny?" asked Frost.

"No, not at all. Let me show you something," said Sub-Zero.

He poured water in another glass. Then, with a sudden move, he skipped it over, turning it upside down. But unlike expected the water didn't surge all over his desk. Instead it fell out as a solid ice block, in the exact shape of the glass. And while Frost still watched in surprise, he put the small icicle back into the glass where it turned liquid again.

"How did you do that?" asked Frost in astonishment.

"The energy to freeze things is called Kori," explained Sub-Zero. "Until now, only very few people are known to possess it. You seem to be one of them..., I mean, one of us."

"Are you saying that I can do this as well?"

"Yes, I'm sure that you too are capable of freezing things by touching them," said Sub-Zero. "I will teach you to use Kori effectively, if you're willing to stay, that is."

"Yes, I really wish to," said Frost. She was so happy that her blue eyes began to shine. "I thank you so much, Grandmaster Sub-Zero!"

"Welcome to the Lin Kuei," said Sub-Zero. "If you talk to the other masters, they will show you your private room."

Frost stood up and bowed to Sub-Zero. Just when she was about to leave the office, the door was opened from the other side. To her surprise Frost saw a cyborg standing in front of her. He had an armor which was colored yellow, gray and white. On several spots of his body were blinking lights in all kind of colors. His face was hidden behind a heavy helmet with a dark visor. Three long, flexible antennas came out from the top of his helmet. On the first sight they looked like thin beads.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to derange you," he said. His voice sounded metallic and monotone.

"It's okay," replied Frost with some hesitation. She then continued her way while the cyborg entered the office.

"I guess my appearance still is somewhat disturbing to people seeing me the first time," he said and took seat on the chair where Frost was sitting a moment ago.

"Well, it's just that you're pretty unique, Cyrax," said Sub-Zero.

Cyrax was one of three cyborgs who were programmed to assassinate Sub-Zero after he had turned his back on the clan. Thanks to the army special forces unit led by Major Jackson Briggs and Lieutenant Sonya Blade it had been possible to return a part of Cyrax's humanity. The other two cyborgs were named Sektor and Smoke. While Sektor disappeared without a trace after the last war against the troops of Outworld, there were rumors saying that Smoke has been discovered, damaged beyond repair. Sub-Zero still felt anger dwelling inside of him when he thought about the way the former grandmasters played with the lives of the clan members as if they were worthless toys.

"How many left?" asked Cyrax suddenly and ripped Sub-Zero out of his thoughts.

"How many what left?" Sub-Zero asked back.

"How many candidates are you still awaiting for today?" said Cyrax, reformulating his question.

"She was the last one," answered Sub-Zero.

"Let me guess, you accepted her?"

"Was it that obvious?" asked Sub-Zero.

"Well, I saw the expression in her face," said Cyrax "and of course I analyzed it. Here is the result: it contained eighty percent happiness and twenty percent tension. I would call this emotion utter rapture. There is only one other occasion when you get to see it on the face of a woman. Do you know when?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued: "When you buy a diamond wedding ring for her..."

"Wait a second," said Sub-Zero. "you bought a diamond ring for a woman?"

"So what?" replied Cyrax. "I was once a human too, remember?"

"Right! I almost forgot..."

"You have to tell me one thing," said Cyrax. "You didn't take Ice Woman just because of her beautiful eyes, did you?"

"Her name is Frost," said Sub-Zero. "And what if I did?"

"Have you seen her test results?" said Cyrax. "She has absolutely no endurance, and her reactions are even worse. You've already denied candidates with better results than hers."

"Endurance and reaction are things that can be trained," said Sub-Zero. "She deserves a chance."

"I'm not saying that she won't be able to improve her skills at all," said Cyrax "but it will take like forever to train someone with her status. I'm afraid I have to say this, but if Shao Kahn decided to march into the Mother Realm tomorrow, it would be our duty to defend this realm. And therefore we need the best warriors we can find."

"I know her weak points," said Sub-Zero. He was getting agitated. "That is the reason why I've decided to train her personally. By the way, it would be a shame to refuse someone with the Kori power, especially for the Lin Kuei..."

"Yeah right, the Kori! It's pretty useless if she cannot control it."

"Believe me, she will make it," Sub-Zero slowly grew tired arguing with Cyrax.

"Well, it's your decision, you're the grandmaster."

For while Sub-Zero and Cyrax both fell silent. Then the grandmaster broke the silence.

"And what about you? Ready for the great task?"

"I guess so," said Cyrax. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

The next day Cyrax would take a flight to Alaska, where he started his new job in the new headquarter of the OIA with nine other agents. After Jax and Sonya repaired his body, he accepted to help out their organization. Somehow he just had to do it, without knowing why, but if he still had been human, he would have known that this feeling was gratitude.

"Take care, my friend," said Sub-Zero. "Life can get quite lonesome out there."

"We are Lin Kuei," said Cyrax "we were born to live in loneliness."

_One year later_

Frost stood in the center of the large round training hall. She was dressed in the black, tight fighting suit which she had chosen on the day of her arrival. Two broad bands of blue silk were sewn into the upper half of her suit, one at the position of each shoulder. On each band a traditional Chinese dragon was embroidered: they had the shape of snakes, possessed fiery tails and sharp claws on each of their four feet. As completion to her costume she wore a belt around her waist which was made of the same blue silk as the decoration bands. Like the bands it was rather meant as decoration than to fulfill any purpose.

The training hall was absolutely empty. Nonetheless Frost bowed to all points of the compass. Four large windows served her as orientation. Then she began her daily kata, a certain succession of attacks and defending stances, going one into another in a flowing sequence. She began the sequence with the initiation stance of the Yuan Yang style, which had a certain similarity to the Crane style. She stood on one leg and lifted the other, until her thigh and upper body were in a rectangular position to each other. She spread her arms to both sides like the wings of a flying bird. One hand was lifted skywards, the other one pointed towards the ground. Her body was slightly twisted to the side so that she could defend herself quickly from enemies approaching her from behind.

When she was ready she started to move, slowly at first, then accelerating bit by bit until she reached the speed she found pleasing. She punched and kicked in all directions, blocked some invisible attacks, swiftly dodged some others and attacked from new. Quickly she made the Kori flow through arms and hands, forming two daggers of solid ice. She stabbed in one direction, whirled around and punched in the opposite direction, while her daggers vanished as quickly as they appeared. She repeated the exercises again and again, until suddenly some noise broke the silence. Frost ended her kata in a defensive position. Then she bowed once again and turned herself to the direction the noise came from. It was Sub-Zero standing by the entrance door of the hall. He was leaning his back comfortably against the wall. Like Frost he was wearing a fighting suit which was colored blue and black.

"That was nice, you are performing your exercises perfectly now," he said.

"At this point comes always a 'but'..." said Frost. She was a little bit out of breath.

"But... it is one thing to fight against imaginary enemies, fighting a real opponent is something completely different."

"I know, Sifu, you have told me already many times."

"Then prove to me that you have learned what you've been told, Frost!"

"As you wish, Sifu. I shall accept your challenge!" said Frost.

Both of them walked to the center of the arena. Then they took their positions, one arm length away from each other. They bowed and went into the initiation positions. While Frost chose to use Yuan Yang again, Sub-Zero decided to use Shotokan, which in contrary to Yuan Yang, relied much more on force than on balance. He stood in front of his apprentice, his legs slightly spread apart, his hand clenched to fists and held by the sides of his waist, ready for a sudden strike. It was no surprise to Frost that her Sifu had chosen this fighting style, for this was the one Sub-Zero mastered the best.

Sub-Zero attacked first. His right hand rushed forward, aiming for Frost's chest. She defended herself with her left forearm and countered with a punch to the side which was opened during Sub-Zero's attack. But her master was prepared and shoved her striking hand aside. Both of them continued their attacks, but always were successfully blocked by the other. Then, out of a sudden, Sub-Zero made a feint. He stroke with a high punch, well knowing that Frost would be able to block it. While she was still in a blocking stance, Sub-Zero sank to the floor with one leg stretched and hit her with a sweep kick against her heel. Frost lost her balance and fell hard on her back.

"Lesson number one: always expect the unexpected," said Sub-Zero.

He reached out his hand and helped her back up. Then they returned to their positions, bowed to each other and went into the second round. It began similar to the first round with ordinary attacks such as punches and kicks. After some time Frost saw a chance to trick Sub-Zero. Therefore she used the same combination of high and low attacks as he did. But she underestimated him. He slightly turned his body, dodging the fist which was aiming for his head, and caught her by the other wrist which was attacking his stomach. He used her own power against her self and pushed her fist with full strength away from his body. Her power was striking back into her arm, making it feel like burning in a flame. And while Frost was busy pulling back her hand, Sub-Zero sent her to the floor again.

"Lesson number two: never try to trick your opponent if you're not absolutely prepared," he said "otherwise you'll find yourself caught up in your own trap."

Sub-Zero helped her up again, and after the bowing procedure they went into the third round. This time Sub-Zero immediately realized that Frost fought with much more concentration. Her attacks were better organized and left less open spaces for counterattacks. Suddenly Frost managed to grab Sub-Zero's wrist. She pulled him towards herself and stroke with an open palm against his shoulder. Although he could defend himself from this hit, he wasn't fast enough to block Frost's next low attack, so this time it was him who fell to the floor.

"Good, this time you used your chance and therefore you have won this round," said Sub-Zero while Frost gave him a hand.

The entrance door to the hall opened. and one of the other Lin Kuei masters entered.

"Grandmaster, Lord Raiden has just arrived," he said. "He wants to see you. It is an urgency."

"What is it?" asked Sub-Zero.

"I don't know," said the other one. "He wouldn't tell me."

"I'll be on my way," said Sub-Zero.

The thunder god Raiden restlessly paced from one end of the office to the other. He stopped at once when Sub-Zero entered.

"Lord Raiden, it is an honor to have you as a guest here in our facility," said Sub-Zero.

"It is an honor for me to meet you, Grandmaster," said Raiden. "As I can see, you were able to reform the Lin Kuei to a force of the good. Therefore you have my respect."

"I thank you for your words," said Sub-Zero.

"Furthermore, it came to my ears that you're still in search of the warrior who calls himself 'Noob Saibot'..."

"It seems that you are perfectly informed about my actions," said Sub-Zero.

"I want to ask you one question," said Raiden. "What will you do if you find him?"

"I don't know," said Sub-Zero. "I guess I'll try to talk to him. He still is my brother. I can't just leave him behind like that."

"May I remind you that he is no longer human? He has become a wraith, a hateful spirit who serves the forces of evil," said Raiden with a very serious tone. "He will hardly listen to you, even if he was your brother."

"You know, my brother used to have clear blue eyes," said Sub-Zero. "It was because of the Kori which was very strong in him..."

Raiden's features showed an expression telling that he didn't understand what Sub-Zero was saying or why he was saying it.

"And when I met Noob Saibot the first time, he still had the same blue eyes, although everything else about him changed," Sub-Zero continued. "Isn't it possible then that a part, perhaps just a tiny bit of his humanity has survived as well? And wouldn't it be worth trying to save him?"

"I am really not sure," said Raiden. "But I do understand your motivations."

There was a long pause when no one said a word. Then Sub-Zero asked:

"You didn't just come to talk to me about my personal sorrows, did you?"

"You're right. I almost forgot the reason for coming here," said Raiden. "To make it short, I need your assistance. The Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn has been putting up a large army during the last few weeks. I fear that a war can no longer be avoided."

"That's indeed a bad news," said Sub-Zero. "After all, the Mother Realm is still not strong enough for an open stand against Outworld."

"That is why we have to plan our moves even more thoroughly," said Raiden. "Sorry, but I have already spent more time here than I can afford." He took out a sealed envelope from the sleeve of his white and blue vest, which he handed over to the Lin Kuei grandmaster. "There will be a gathering tomorrow evening. Further information is written in this letter. But now I have to leave you. There are still others left who need to be informed..." Before Raiden could teleport himself away, Sub-Zero said:

"I would like to bring someone along to that gathering, if you allow, that is."

"Who?" asked Raiden.

"An apprentice of mine," said Sub-Zero.

"As I said, we are standing on the threshold to a new war. This is not the right time to train the ones without experience."

"She might be an apprentice," said Sub-Zero. "but she is already quite skilled in combat."

"Is she reliable?"

"Yes, Lord Raiden, absolutely."

"In that case you won't need my permission," said Raiden. "I would be very glad to meet her."

"Thank you, Lord Raiden," said Sub-Zero and bowed. When he looked up again, the thunder god had disappeared.

_Temple of the White Lotus Society_

_China_

Kung Lao knocked on the door, but entered the big room without waiting for an answer.

The room he just entered wasn't just big, it was huge. It was filled with many high shelves, almost reaching the ceiling, leaving only narrow passages between them. All of the shelves were filled with books, until there was no space left. Some of the books were so old that the pages had turned yellow, others were already falling apart.

After Kung Lao passed the bookshelves, he came to the one and only open space of the room that was not occupied by shelves. Instead there was a table, on which more books were piled up like some kind of strange architecture. Kung Lao looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

"What can I do for you, young Master Kung?" asked a voice, but Kung Lao couldn't determine where it came from.

After a while an old man came out of one of the passages. He wore a pair of old fashioned glasses and held a book in his hands. Kung Lao bowed to him as a sign of respect. The old man was named Wang Wei. But everyone just called him the "Lord of the Library". He was known within the whole temple for his wisdom. Anyone who had a problem or needed a specific advice would come to consult him. Surprisingly he was always able to find the right book for every problem in this huge library in less than thirty seconds. And if there was one problem he couldn't solve, then no one could.

And now it was Kung Lao who needed his advice.

Since a few days Kung Lao was feeling a mysterious uneasiness deep inside of him, although he had absolutely no reason to be worried about anything. Not only that, as a member of the White Lotus he had experienced and survived quite a number of dangerous situations, but the least of them ever made him feel so uncomfortable like now.

The White Lotus Society was an ancient organization which was founded many centuries ago. The intent of the White Lotus was to fight and protect earth from "all that is evil", whatever that supposed to mean. When Kung Lao was younger, he thought that the Society fought against ordinary crimes, such as burglary, corruption or murder. And he wondered why this sort of organization still existed, with the police, private investigators and other institutions dealing with them. But when he entered the Society himself, the truth was revealed to him, a truth which laid beyond his imaginations, and beyond Earth Realm.

"How did you know it was me?" Kung Lao asked the old man.

"Quite simple, I recognized you by the sound of your steps," said the old man. He lowered his head in order to look at Kung Lao over the edge of his glasses. "Now then, what is your desire?"

"I'm feeling restless these days, but I don't know the why."

"And now you want my diagnosis?"

"Yes, Master Wang, if this is not too much trouble for you."

Master Wang nodded thoughtfully. "Do you eat and sleep enough? The young ones like you are likely to overestimate their own power."

"No matter how much I eat or how long I sleep, it won't make a difference."

Master Wang nodded again. "I'm no doctor, you know?" But after a short pause he handed over the book he was holding. "Maybe you try out this." It seemed to be very old. On the cover were only two Chinese characters, they were read: "I Ching".

"I'm afraid you misunderstood me," said Kung Lao "I need an advice, no fortune telling."

"In contrary, young friend, it is you who does not understand," said Master Wang. "When Confucius wrote the I Ching, his intent was not foretelling the future. But instead he wanted to describe every possible state of life and explain them. He wrote down sixty-four such states. Later on people thought that if it was possible to describe the present state of life, then it would also be possible to predict the future, as both future and presence are linked together."

"I see," said Kung Lao. "But I've never consulted the I Ching. I don't know what I have to do."

"Well there are two ways to ask the I Ching. For the easier way you have to throw three coins six times. Depending on how the coins fell, you get two trigrams which are called 'Ba Gua'. The name means something like 'eight symbols'. It's because there are eight different trigrams. But back to the I Ching, I rather prefer the original way, which is a bit more complicated."

"How does it work?" asked Kung Lao.

"Well, explaining it here would take too long, and besides, it would rather confuse you. The rules are written in the book. Take your time and do exactly as described. There is one more thing you need." The old master went to another shelf and took out a case made of bamboo. "Take this to."

"What's this?"

"These are sticks of incense. Fifty-five sticks of incense, to be more accurate..."

"Do I have to kindle them all?" asked Kung Lao.

"No, you're not supposed to burn them at all. They are used to retrieve the trigrams." Then he repeated: "It is all written in the book."

Kung Lao bowed. He was just about to turn around and leave the library when Master Wang held him back.

"I'm not done yet!" said Master Wang with the sharpness of a teacher who was censuring a disobedient pupil. Kung Lao turned back hastily.

"I wanted to tell you the basic idea of the I Ching, so that you might understand why I suggested that you use it," said Master Wang. His voice turned softer again. "It is said that all things in the world and beyond are divided into two fractions, such as male and female, hardness and softness, brightness and darkness, dryness and dampness. But because the world contains all of these qualities, it has to stay in a state of constant changes between the two extremes. Only then, the world is in balance. Our mission is to keep this balance, and the I Ching was written to aid us."

"But it is our duty to fight evil," said Kung Lao. "We have chosen to stand on one side. How can this be called balance?"

Master Wang smiled, as if he was glad that Kung Lao had found this question. "Well, it can't be overseen that there are things in the world which can't be turned back once they occurred. A fresh apple begins to rot if you wait long enough, but a rotten apple won't turn edible again, no matter how long you wait. When we fight against evil, we are also fighting for the balance, because things get spoiled easier than they recover." He made a pause. "I hope that I was able to help you."

"I will let you know," said Kung Lao and left the library.

He returned to his private chamber and began to read the book he retrieved from Master Wang. The ancient rules for consulting the I Ching turned out to be more complicated than expected. Now he could understand why Master Wang didn't want to explain them orally. There were rules for just everything: rules for counting the sticks, rules for drawing the lines, even rules for holding the sticks in which hand. But after a while Kung Lao got used to it. Soon he had drawn his symbol and looked it up in the book, and what he found, made him feel even more uncomfortable. His hexagram was named "Ming Yi", which meant: "The Obscuring of the Light".

While Kung Lao read the explanations, he suddenly felt a presence behind his back. He whirled around and saw a figure standing in one corner of his room. Kung Lao knew that Raiden was a mentor, a powerful ally and even a friend, nonetheless he wished the thunder god didn't come, for he only showed himself in times of major threats from Outworld.

"So it's true," said Kung Lao. "A new time of darkness has begun."

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said Raiden. But then he smiled slightly. "Didn't you know? It is always darkest before dawn..."


	4. Chapter 3: The Red and the Black

**CHAPTER 3: THE RED AND THE BLACK**

It was said that life could change fundamentally from one moment to another, maybe though an accident, maybe through the loss of a family member or a close friend. It was in those moments that one had to ask for the reason of life. And was there one in the first place? Those sudden changes didn't mean that it was impossible to have a plan in life; it just showed that one could never be absolutely sure that thing turned out the way it was expected.

That was a fact Kabal knew well, for he had already made this experience twice in his life.

The first time was several years back. The village he was living in was raided by Shao Kahn's extermination squad. The Outworld soldiers must have been in a thirst for blood. They raised a total carnage: they slaughtered every single one and spared none, not even women or kids. Kabal was near death himself. It was a miracle that he survived after all, but his injuries were so severe that he permanently had to wear a mask which assured his air supply and filtered it before it reached his lungs. His larynx had been crushed, what meant his voice had to be restored artificially. He was lucky not to die from suffocation.

When Kabal learned later that he was the only one who had survived the assault, it was like the end of the world itself. Why had it been his village that was destroyed? Had he done something so completely wrong that he raised the wrath of the gods? Or was there another reason to it? For a while Kabal had seriously thought about taking his own life. The only thing that prevented him from doing it was the anger he felt swelling deep inside of him. He swore to himself that he would have his revenge on whoever had been responsible for the attack.

Then he met Kano, a man who gave his life a new reason. Kano brought him into the Black Dragon Clan, where Kabal decided to stay for the time being. He began to train his body by learning Sun Bin and the usage of hookswords. But after all, there were problems he couldn't oversee.

Although Kabal was grateful for Kano helping him out, he clearly disapproved Kano's impatient and violent nature. He knew that sooner or later this behavior would get not only himself, but the whole clan into trouble. He wanted to distinguish himself from Kano, so he developed himself into the mastermind of the clan, the one planning and scheming in the background.

Then a second event changed Kabal's life once more. He was on a scouting mission for the Black Dragon when he met a mysterious fighter who introduced himself as Mavado. Kabal never met him before, but the fact that he knew Kano was reason enough for Mavado to challenge him.

Mavado was a slim man with short hair. He wore a strangely styled long one-sleeved coat. He had a cultivated appearance and a polite way of speaking. He wasn't very tall, and his body didn't seem to be very strong. Kabal thought that he could defeat him with ease. But he was wrong.

Indeed Mavado was not as strong as Kabal, but the speed of Mavado's moves outraced Kabal's speed by far. And there was another fact that made Mavado a dangerous opponent: his fighting style. Other than most fighting styles which relied on a certain number of attacking and defending moves, Wing Chun was a rather flexible fighting style with only a few general principles. It takes a long time until one could use Wing Chun effectively, but it is said that an experienced Wing Chun fighter could defeat any opponents blindfolded, and Mavado certainly was well trained.

Soon Kabal found himself defeated. However, Mavado's intention wasn't just to defeat or to kill him, he wanted to make Kabal suffer. He attacked the Black Dragon member again and again, until Kabal passed out. Thereafter Mavado took Kabal's hookswords as a trophy along with him and left Kabal's broken body behind in the wilderness, as if he was a piece of dead meat.

Kabal would certainly have died from his injuries, if he hadn't had a guardian angel that sent a man to help him. And so Kabal was taken into a bizarre realm with the shape of a huge maze, where women liked to be beaten up and men rewarded those who robbed them.

The man who helped Kabal was called Havik, but everyone in that foreign realm would only refer to him as "Eminence". He wore a long dark blue robe, a cape was constantly pulled over his head, and his features were always hidden behind a colorfully decorated mask. He ordered some servants to take care of Kabal until he fully recovered. In addition, he found a blacksmith who forged two new hookswords. When Kabal asked why Havik did all this for him, he simply answered:

"Because it should be everybody's duty to help the injured."

After six weeks, when Kabal was ready to return to Earth Realm, Havik told him that the fighter who attacked him was a member of another clan called Red Dragon. Their aim was to destroy the Black Dragon for an unknown reason. To be able to defend themselves Kabal had to recruit new members for the Black Dragon. As far as it concerned Kano, Havik said he was arrested in Outworld and facing a death sentence for his failures in the past. That fact made Kabal the only one who could carry out the task.

After all, many questions were still left unanswered to Kabal. But he believed he just had to be patient. For now he had to concentrate on his new task, and the answers he searched would be given in due time.

_Los Angeles_

_USA_

_Mother Realm_

"Why are you interested in that guy so much?"

Kabal turned his head and took a short glance at the woman on the seat next to him, and then he concentrated again on the traffic in front of him. She wore a leather jacket, leather slacks and leather boots. Her slim face was framed by her vermilion hair that reached to her chin.

"It appears that he's a talented warrior," answered Kabal. "I think he's a good choice for a new clan member."

"Are you sure?" asked the woman. "I think he's insane. No one ever robbed seven banks in one week all alone."

"That only tells me this sunny boy knows what he's doing," replied Kabal and turned left. In a distance he could see red and blue light blinking. "That must be it."

"Great, we have company," said the woman.

"You know the saying, Kira, 'More risk, more fun'," said Kabal.

"Uh... the saying goes 'No risk, no fun'," corrected the woman.

"Isn't that the same?" asked Kabal.

"Somehow I'm thinking now that you're the one insane," said Kira.

"At least I'm sane enough not to sell weapons to the militia of the Taliban," replied Kabal.

"Ouch, that really hurt," said Kira. She definitely didn't want to discuss that issue again.

Kabal stopped the car about hundred meters away from the police vehicles. Then they both got out. Before they began to walk into the direction of the police vehicles, Kabal said:

"Leave the talking to me. I know this kind of guys."

"Fine by me," said Kira grinning.

"Ready?" asked Kabal.

"Steady," replied Kira.

"Go!" said Kabal.

Without to hasten they both walked side by side towards the police cars. Soon they arrived at a barricade which was guarded by two policemen.

"Halt! No matter who you are, you can't pass here!" shouted one of them.

"Don't bet on it!" said Kabal. His right fist rushed forward and hit the police into the stomach, while his left hand formed an open palm and stroke upward, hitting under the chin of his opponent, he was knocked out immediately. Meanwhile the other police was defeated by Kira who was an excellent Kenpo fighter. They overstepped the barricade and closed in on the arrangement of police vehicles. Since everyone was busy watching the bank door with their weapons aimed in the very same direction, nobody noticed the two Black Dragon members approaching from behind.

"Hey, is there something for free?" asked Kabal. As a result all cops whirled around and pointed their guns towards the trespassers. Eight cops with eight guns surrounded Kira and Kabal.

"Don't move!" barked one of the officers, and another one said in a sharp tune: "Take your hand up so we can see them!"

"Could you please make up your mind?" asked Kabal. "Should we now stop moving or take our hands up?"

While he spoke, his eyes wandered around, waiting for the right time for a counter attack. And then it happened, one of the cops was careless enough to close in on him. Kabal's right hand rushed forward and grabbed the police by his wrist and threw him over his shoulder. The cop crashed hard on his back, and Kabal who was still holding his wrist, bent his hand forcefully inwards, so that the officer had to drop his gun. At the same time another officer approached Kabal from behind, and ran into a kick backwards hitting his abdomen. A third one was brought to the floor by a sweep kick of Kira, and while she stood up, she knocked out another one hitting him with both fists in his abdomen and chest.

When she was standing she saw Kabal fighting two cops at the same time, while the remaining two decided to attack him from behind.

"Hey, tough guys!" she shouted, and the two policemen turned towards her. She remained motionless, her hands hidden behind her back, almost if she was waiting for her arrest. But when there were only a few steps between the cops and Kira, she showed them her left palm. They saw that she was holding some strange purple colored powder, and in the next moment she blew it right into the faces of her opponents. They were engulfed in a purple mist.

"What the hell..." was the only thing they could say, before they began to cough heavily and fell to the floor, loosing their conscience.

In the mean time Kabal had defeated another one. When the last one of them found himself as the only one standing, he panicked and ran away. Kira wanted to pursuit him, but Kabal held her back.

"Let him go," he said. "We'll be long gone before he can call reinforcements."

Together they entered the bank. Inside the big hall several men and women crouched in utter fear on the floor. A man of middle age lay in the middle of the hall. He was dead; a shot wound was in the middle of his chest. A young man with blonde hair stood next to the corpse. He had a woman in his grip and held a hand gun to the side of her head.

"Don't come closer, or I'll shoot her!" he shouted. His voice was trembling.

"Please don't..." the woman whimpered. "I have two kids at home..."

"Shut up, bitch!" the young man screamed at her. Several hostages startled at the sound of his voice.

"We won't do you any harm," said Kabal and carefully stepped forward.

"Stop! If you move any further, I'll shoot her, I'm serious!"

"Yes, I can see how serious you are," said Kabal and pointed with his chin towards the dead man. "We all know it, you don't have to repeat it over and over again."

"Who are you guys?" asked the young man. "Are you some kind of negotiators working for the cops?"

"No," said Kabal with a calm tone of voice. "We are neither negotiators nor do we help the cops in any other way. All we want is just that you come along with us..."

"No way," said the young man. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Fine," said Kabal. "But tell me what you want to do then. Do you want to wait until they come in here? What do you think they'll do with you? You've killed someone. That's something different than just bank robbery."

"It wasn't my fault," said the young man. "He tried to attack me!"

"Hey, you're the one holding the gun, and now you complain that others try to defend themselves?" said Kabal.

"He tried to attack me!" the young man repeated, screaming out loud.

"Tell me then, what did it feel like when you shot him?" asked Kabal.

"What?"

"Did you feel excitement when you took his life?" asked Kabal.

"Yes, it was the greatest sensation I've ever felt," said the young man. He seemed to be enthusiastic in one moment, but embarrassed by his feelings in the other.

"I could give you this feeling whenever you wish," said Kabal. "But there are two conditions: First, you have to stop harming innocent people. Second, stop relying on fire weapons. Only fools use their guns without thinking."

"Haven't you forgotten a third condition?" interrupted the young man. "That is I have to go with you."

Kabal laughed. It was a bizarre and somewhat creepy sound. "Yes, I guess you are right."

"You still haven't given me any reason to trust you," said the young man and grabbed the woman harder who immediately began to choke.

"Did you hear all the cops outside?" asked Kabal. "What do you think, why don't you hear them anymore? The answer is, because we knocked them out. Do you really think we would do that if we were working for them?"

It seemed that Kabal had succeeded in convincing the young man. After a short moment of silence he said: "Okay, I'll come with you."

"Very good choice," said Kabal. "Now let go of the lady. You don't want to turn her kids into orphans just because you weren't able to control yourself, do you? And besides, killing her will break rule number one."

The young man hesitated at first, but then finally did as Kabal said.

"Good, we're making improvements," Kabal turned towards the woman and continued: "Sit down next to the others. And if you decide to do anything stupid, my friend will have to break some more rules."

The woman nodded whimpering, and then crawled hastily to the other hostages, while Kabal left the building together with Kira and their new comrade.

"What's your name?" asked Kabal on the way back to their vehicle.

"My real name is of no importance," answered the young man. "I prefer being called 'Kobra'."

"Whatever you want," said Kabal. "You won't regret your decision, I promise. Welcome to your new life!"

"What the hell happened here?" asked Police Chief Paul Graham. He has been working at the Los Angeles Police Department for thirty years now, yet he has never seen something like this. At first it seemed to be an ordinary bank robbery. But after he has been doing the same thing on the following days, Chief Graham sent out a whole unit to arrest him at any cost. But now it seemed that the situation has totally escalated.

"Apparently the robber had some friends to help him," said an officer who stood next to Graham. "They ambushed our team and helped the offender escape."

"But how can it be possible that two people defeat a whole team?" Graham grew more and more agitated. "I want to have a description of the suspects as soon as possible; they won't escape one more time!"

"I'm afraid that catching them won't be that easy," said a voice behind the two cops. When they turned around they saw a tall man. His head was bald, his features looked Asian; he was dressed in a black suit, combined with a white shirt and a dark tie. He spoke fluently without any foreign accent.

"Who are you?" asked Graham.

"FBI Special Agent Hsu Hao," replied the Asian and showed his ID to Graham. "Some officer back there told me to look for Chief Graham. I guess that's you."

"Yes, you found me," said Graham. "But why is the FBI interested in a case of bank robbery?"

"Because those guys robbed several other banks all over the United States," explained Agent Hsu Hao. He had something arrogant in his voice. "This is new to you, isn't it?"

"Indeed," said Graham. "So you mean it's a whole gang?"

"Yes," said Agent Hsu Hao. "They call themselves the Black Dragon. I don't blame you if you have never heard from them. They are hiding in the underground. Some of their members are even unknown to us. Anyway, they are involved in almost every crime section: drugs, weapons, prostitution, murder and of course robbery."

"Wait a second..." said Chief Graham. "They didn't take any money this time."

"Really? That means they were either interrupted by something or suddenly changed their minds," said Agent Hsu Hao. "I'd like to go inside and take a look..."

"Suit yourself," said Graham. The FBI Agent continued his way without saying any further words.

"Strange, I always thought that FBI Agents only appear in couples," said the officer who was still standing next to Graham.

"Why should they?"

"Well, Mulder and Scully were a couple, right?" said the officer. "Anyways, I don't like these guys in real life. They always behave like they're something better than all the others."

"Don't you have anything to do?" asked Chief Graham. "You're not paid for talking!"

"Sorry, Sir, of course not!" said the officer and rushed back to work.

Agent Hsu Hao wasn't all that wrong, the ones he was looking for, were there. But then he learned something from the hostages he didn't know. The bank robber was a young man at the age of about the mid-twenties. He had long blonde hair and was wearing a training suit. As far as Hsu Hao knew, he has never heard of anyone who fitted into that description.

When he left the building, he took out his cell phone. After it rang twice on the other side a man picked up.

"Yes," was the only thing he said.

"Sir, I have found the targets," said Hsu Hao. "But there have been some changes."

"What changes?"

"It seems that the Black Dragon is recruiting new members. Their newest one is a man who called himself Kobra. He has robbed several banks in the last days."

The other side remained silent for a moment so that Hsu Hao thought the connection has broken off. "Sir, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here. Let me think," another moment of silence followed, then the voice said: "The main priority to the Boss is to find Kano. Return to the OIA, stick to Sonya Blade, she will lead us to him. Leave Kabal and the others to us."

"Yes, Sir," said Agent Hsu Hao. He entered his car and drove away.

_At the same time_

_Alaska, United States_

_Mother Realm_

As far as the eye reached, snow and ice covered the land. Thick clouds covered the entire sky, but the light was reflected by the ground, and the brightness hurt the unprotected eye. But even with sunglasses it was hard to tell where the horizon was. The sky and the earth were molten into one unit.

The U.S. Army helicopter landed right next to a huge white dome which rose in the middle of the ice desert. Sonya Blade and Jax jumped out of it. They walked with big steps, but in a crouching position to avoid the wind caused by the propels of the helicopter. They both wore thick parkas, but the tiny ice crystals flying up felt like thousands of pricking needles in their faces.

They entered the dome through the main entrance and climbed down a long ladder through an opening in the ground. Under normal circumstances there was an elevator, but like everything else in the dome it has been severely damaged in the explosion and was now out of order.

The situation at ground level was worse than Sonya had expected. Large and small pieces of debris were scattered over the whole place. Several large posts were broken into two parts. Wires were hanging from the ceiling. A line of blue emergency lights were put up on the ground. The cold light somehow reminded Sonya of the Lin Kuei headquarters.

"Man, this looks really bad," muttered Sonya.

"No worries, Ma'am, we have already secured everything. It's all under control."

When Sonya and Jax turned around they saw a man with an edgy face and a three day's beard. He was dressed in a dark blue jacket, black slacks and military boots. On his head he wore a heavy looking security helmet. On the back of his jacket were four capital letters were imprinted: _S.W.A.T_. His name was Kurtis Stryker, but actually, everyone just called him by his family name. He was a specialist for explosives. He has already deactivated many bombs in his life time, and as many detonated bombs were put back in shape again with his help. He was one of the best in his profession.

"Nonetheless, you should put up these," Stryker continued and handed two more helmets to Sonya and Jax. "It is still possible that small parts fall down and hit you." Jax and Sonya followed his advice.

"Do you already know the cause for the explosion?" Sonya asked.

"I'm still at it," replied Stryker. "But if I had to guess, I would say that it was some liquid explosives, they hardly leave any traces..."

"So, it was no accident?" asked Jax.

"I'm afraid not."

"But it must have been quiet a large amount of this stuff to blow up this whole building," said Jax. "And the next big question is: How did they get all the explosives in here without getting noticed? How did they cover their operation?"

"And who are 'they'?" asked Sonya.

"I hope that the computers with the daily protocol didn't receive too much damage," said Stryker. "I already had them sent back to our HQ. I hope that Reyes is able to get some information out of them, like if there were any unexpected visitors..."

"Reyes? Vanessa Reyes? The one who wears those short skirts?" asked Jax. "Man, she's hot!"

Stryker glanced at Jax with a grim expression on his face for some seconds, as if the Major had said something insulting. "Yes, that's her. She's a really talented girl. You can count on her."

"What about the dimension portal? Has it been damaged?" asked Sonya.

"It seems that it was the intention of the unknown attackers to destroy the portal. I assume that the explosion has its source there. I'm sorry, ma'am, I know how hard you've work to establish this new headquarter," said Stryker.

"Take as much time as you need, you're doing a great job here," said Sonya.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Uh... Stryker, would you please do me a favor?" asked Sonya.

"Yes, of course. What is it?"

"Please stop calling me _ma'am_."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sonya, my name is Sonya, okay?"

Stryker nodded. "Well then, Sonya. What are you planning to do next?"

"I'll travel back to Los Angeles and do the explaining stuff," said Sonya. "There will be a lot of people asking for answers. Just thinking about it already gets me a headache."

"Okay," said Stryker. "I'll phone you if I find anything interesting."

_Los Angeles_

_Old HQ of the OIA_

_Mother Realm_

Only a few hours later Sonya and Jax were back at their new headquarter. They were already expected when they passed the entrance door. The Asian FBI Agent, now working for the Outworld Investigation Agency, was waiting for them.

"Agent Hsu, what are you doing here?" asked Sonya surprised. "I thought you were with your family in San Francisco?"

"I was," said Hsu Hao. "But then someone called and told me what happened. Then I rushed here immediately."

"Always at work, huh?" said Jax.

"Aren't we all like that?" replied Hsu Hao. "You already know the cause?"

"Stryker thinks it was an assault," said Sonya. "I think so to."

"I wonder who could have done that," said Hsu Hao.

"That's what we are wondering, too," said Jax.

"If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know," said Hsu Hao.

"Yes, there is indeed something you can do," said Sonya. "Please check the data bank for recent activities of the Black Dragon Clan. I want information on all of their whereabouts."

"Wait a second, why do you think it was the Black Dragon?" asked Jax.

"Think about it," said Sonya. "Until today, the OIA is still a quite unknown agency. We don't have many enemies here in the Mother Realm..."

"Only those who live here and vowed to serve Shao Kahn," Jax continued her thought.

"Right," said Sonya. "We both know a criminal organization working for him, and that's the Black Dragon." She took out a key card out of her pocket and handed it to Hsu Hao. "Use this to enter the data base... Or wait, I'll come with you."

"What are you thinking?" asked Jax.

"I just want to talk to Reyes and see if she's really as hot as you say," said Sonya.

"I really should consider thinking twice before talking," muttered Jax while Sonya and Hsu Hao left the entrance hall.

The computer database was situated in a small room in the basement. It was a small room with several computers. A small table with a monitor on it stood in one corner of the room. Hsu Hao sat down in front of the computer, and Sonya granted him access to the database.

"You know what to do, right?" asked Sonya.

"Yes, I think so," said Hsu Hao.

"If you need help, feel free to go into the next room and ask Miss Reyes. She will surely help you."

"Alright, I'll ask her," said Hsu Hao.

Sonya went into the small room, where Vanessa Reyes sat at a separate computer. She wore an elegant blazer and a skirt which ended just above her knees. She had bound her hair to a bun and pushed two pencils though it to hold it in place. A special pair of glasses protected her eyes from exhaustion due to starring at the monitor.

There were women one considered as beautiful because they had a special make-up in their faces or wore some special earrings to highlight their features, and then there were women who had some kind of an inner beauty. Those women were beautiful by nature. Sonya realized that Vanessa Reyes belonged to the second category.

"Have you already found anything interesting?" asked Sonya.

"Not yet, but I've just started," said Vanessa.

"You'll make it, I trust you," said Sonya. "And so does Lieutenant Stryker."

"You've talked to him?" asked Vanessa. Her face began to light up. "Kurtis is so romantic, he might appear tough and cold on the surface, but deep inside him beat a warm and gentle heart."

"So it's like _hard shell, soft core_?"

"You can say that. Just a couple of weeks ago he offered me a marriage proposal," said Vanessa with a bright smile in her face.

"That's the reason why he looked at Jax so strangely..." muttered Sonya.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No, it's nothing, I was just thinking aloud," said Sonya. "Well, I'm happy to hear that. I'll leave you alone with your work now. Let me know first if you find anything interesting."

"Sure, I'll contact you!" said Vanessa.

When she came out of the basement, Jax was nowhere to be found. Finally she met him outside in front of the entrance door. He sat on one staircase and was smoking a cigarette.

"You know that cigarettes will kill you one day, don't you?" asked Sonya.

"Only fools don't know," said Jax.

"You still have one?"

"I didn't know you smoke," said Jax and gave her the package.

"I actually quitted when I entered the army," said Sonya. She put a cigarette in her mouth while Jax lit it up. "It's not good if you train for the rescue swimmers and smoke at the same time."

For a while they both just sat next to each other, silently smoking for a while.

"Are you okay?" asked Jax.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sonya. She fell silent again and created a little white pillar which ascended from her mouth. "No, actually, I'm not okay, I'm exhausted and my head feels like it's going to explode... I mean, we have been working for ten years on it. And in one break of a time, it is destroyed. It's all gone. How should I be feeling fine?"

Jax realized that her voice was breaking, when he looked at her, he saw tears in her eyes.

"Hey, are you crying?"

"No, of course not!" said Sonya. "I got smoke in my eyes..."

"You know what Raiden would say in a situation like this?" said Jax. He continued, imitating Raiden's serious way of talking: "It's not a fault to be weak, but it is one to hide his weakness..." He stopped and embraced Sonya. "Just let it go, it will make you feel better."

For a while they just sat there. An absolute silence surrounded them, but Jax could feel Sonya's body tremble in his arms. After some minutes Sonya freed herself from his embrace, her eyes were red. She wiped her eyes, cleared her throat and said:

"How embarrassing, the last time I cried in front of a man was when I finished high school."

"It doesn't need to embarrass you," said Jax. "We are friends after all."

"Thanks, Jax. It's good to have a friend like you."

Jax threw his cigarette to the floor. "You know what I've been thinking about?"

"No, but maybe you'll tell me," said Sonya.

"I've been asking myself why the Black Dragon Clan decided to destroy our HQ now, why not earlier?" said Jax. "Why did they wait a whole year?"

"That's simple," said Sonya. "Because Shao Kahn ordered them to do it now. The Black Dragon Clan rarely acts out of its own will."

"But why should Shao Kahn wait so long?"

This time Sonya had to think a while, suddenly her eyes widened.

"This can only mean trouble," she said. "Shao Kahn wants to hide his actions from our eyes..."

"Yes, you're right although I wished you were not," said a voice behind them. When Sonya and Jax turned around they saw a man standing on the upper staircase, dressed in white from head to toe.

"Lord Raiden!" they both stood up and bowed before the thunder god.

"I'm worried to see that this war has already arrived at your home world," said Raiden. "And yet I have to ask for your assistance. We are facing a major crisis..."

"What do you mean by that?" Sonya asked.

"I can't tell you right now because some things are even unknown to me," said Raiden. "But I've already informed the others, we will be meeting tomorrow night in Hong Kong. I know that you're facing your own problems right now, but it's very important that you two take part at this meeting. For further information read this letter." He handed them an envelope and then disappeared in a flash of light.

"It looks like we're going to be really busy," said Jax.

"Don't say," replied Sonya with a grim look in her face

_Later that night_

_OIA Headquarter_

_Los Angeles_

Hsu Hao was working on the data base for more than five hours now. It was exhausting to search the huge amount of information the OIA had gathered about the Black Dragon Clan. But if there was anything the Red Dragon member could be proud of, it was the patience and discipline. Hsu Hao would never disappoint neither his clan, Mavado nor the Boss. After he has gathered everything he was looking for, he switched off the computer and went into the neighboring room. Vanessa Reyes was still working. Another one with discipline. The Boss would have liked her.

"You're a hard working person, right?" he asked, trying to sound friendly.

She turned around. "Oh, it's you, you startled me."

"Sorry, it wasn't my intension to scare you."

"Never mind. Have you found everything you were looking for?"

"Yes," answered Hsu Hao. "To be honest, I'm pretty tired. I think I'll return home and go to bed. What about you?"

"I think I'll do the same," said Reyes. "I just want to finish this month. There were some strange events then..."

"What do you mean?"

"One day the crew was facing some problems with the electric equipments, but instead of calling us, they called an unknown company. Those guys stayed there for quite some time, but it does not say what they did there." Reyes paused and continued joking. "I hope Lieutenant Blade won't kill me because I informed you before her."

"No, she definitely won't do that," said Hsu Hao smiling. "She won't kill you because I will."

Before Vanessa could make a sound, Hsu Hao pulled a gun, equipped with a silencer. He shot at her three times, and she died instantly.

"I actually hate it to hurt a woman," muttered Hsu Hao. "Maybe I'm one of those old fashioned guys." He then took out a disk out of his jacket, uploaded its content, then put it back in his pocket and left the basement.

When he came to the entrance hall, he met another OIA-agent who greeted Hsu Hao in a very friendly way.

"Good night, sir," he said.

"The same to you," replied Hsu Hao and went through the main door. When he was outside he took out his mobile phone once again and dialed the number of his supervisor. As always it rang twice before he heard a male voice.

"Yes?"

"It's me," said Hsu Hao. "I was able to gather the information faster than expected. As far as the OIA knows, Kano has not left Outworld since Shao Kahn's latest attack."

"Very well done," said the man on the other side. "Our new friends will be able lead us to Outworld. Your work is done, Hsu Hao, come back. The Boss will reward you greatly."

"Thank you, sir," said Hsu Hao. "Just one more thing, I wasn't able to avoid collateral damage."

"I see," said the voice on the other side. "I will send a cleaner."

Hsu Hao switched of his phone, went to his car and drove away.


	5. Chapter 4: See no Evil

**CHAPTER 4: SEE NO EVIL **

_At the same time_

_Somewhere in Japan_

_Mother Realm_

It was a clear day when the young boy and the old man marched down the main road of the town. Although the sun has just risen half an hour ago, the road was crowded with people on their way to work. From time to time they came across someone who stopped at once and watched curiously as the unusual couple pass.

It wasn't the fact that one of them was at the age of approximately twenty and the other one was at least sixty years older that made them to an attraction. It was their clothes and the equipment they were carrying along.

The boy had a fashionable haircut. He wore a white kimono that was held by a dark red belt, matching to a bandana wrapped around his forehead. His feet were enclosed in comfortable sandals. The old man too wore a kimono in a dark blue tone. His hair reached to his shoulders, the years have turned it white. He used a long staff as walking aid. His body was slightly bent forward. His steps were short and cautious.

But the most unusual thing about them was something the boy carried on his back. It was a sheath made of a shining black material, designed to hold a katana, a traditional sword used by the samurai back in the ancient times. The boy knew that the time of the samurais has ended long ago, yet he was proud being a descendant of those great warriors. He has grown up as an orphan. His parents left him behind when he was still a baby. As long as he could remember the old man named Song raised him. The boy has never learned Song's full name, he referred to him only as "Master Song". But even so, Master Song has been more to him than merely a teacher; Song was also his protector and his only family.

In spite of his age, Master Song was a great fighter skilled in handling a sword. And so he taught the boy all he knew of the art of sword fighting. But he was not only a great fighter; the master was also a man of great wisdom. In addition to kendo, a variation of sword fighting where long bamboo staffs replaced the swords, he taught the boy to read ancient literature and philosophy texts, such as "The Art of War", written by Sun Tsu, a famous Chinese general.

One day, it was the boy's twentieth birthday; Master Song summoned him into the training room.

"You have made great process in the last few years," he said. "Therefore I believe it's time to give you a special gift. Take it, you have deserved it."

He revealed a sword in a black sheath and handed it to the boy. As a sign of respect, the boy knelt down, raised his hands over his head and waited for his master to place the sword on his hands. He remained a little longer on his knees before he rose again.

"Now you're a true samurai," said Master Song. "You may take a look at your weapon now."

Slowly the boy pulled the sword out of its sheath. It was a katana of mid length. As it was rather light it allowed the user to wield it with one hand. It was perfectly balanced, and the narrow blade glimmered in the morning light.

"It's beautiful," said the boy and bowed to his teacher. "I'm very grateful."

"You may rise, Kenshi," said Master Song, then he continued: "Now that you are a true samurai, you have to remember the first rule of the Code of Honor."

"A samurai uses his sword to cut out the heart of his enemy, but he never turns it against the people," recited Kenshi.

"That is right," said Master Song. "Never forget that."

Kenshi thanked his master one more time. As he wanted to leave the room, Master Song held him back.

"Your parents also have a gift for you," said the old man.

The boy turned around. "You have news from my parents?" he asked. His voice was excited.

"No, I'm afraid not," said Master Song.

"But you have met them?" asked Kenshi.

"Yes," said the master. "Twenty years ago, they've brought you to me. And they've asked me to give you something when you have reached the age of twenty. The time has now come."

Kenshi's expression suddenly turned disappointed and angry.

"What's wrong?" asked Master Song. "I thought you might be happy to hear from your parents."

"Master, it was you who taught me that the family comes first. The family stands above all. But why did my parents abandon me? Is there anything more dishonorable than to leave his own child behind?"

"Don't judge others too lightly," said Master Song. "Your parents are noble and honorable people. But they had no choice. Like you, they are descendants of the samurai, and as such, they have vowed to fight the criminal clans of the Yakuza. They only gave you away because they feared to bring you in danger. They did this for your safety."

Kenshi nodded. "I was wrong, I apologize," after a while he asked: "So what's this gift?"

"I'm afraid that I have to disappoint you again, I don't know what it is. And it is not here. It is said to be hidden inside the tomb of your ancestors."

"But if we take it from there, wouldn't it be tomb raiding?" asked Kenshi.

"It would be tomb raiding if someone unauthorized entered the crypt," answered Maser Song. "But as you are one of their descendants, you are allowed to enter the sacred place."

The boy was satisfied with the answer. "So when are we going to leave?"

"We have to make some preparations," said Master Song. "We will start our journey in about two weeks."

Kenshi bowed to his Master. "I will prepare myself."

That was when Kenshi and his Master began their journey. They walked at daytime and rested during the nights in hotels or also under the open sky. Kenshi enjoyed the trip very much. He felt the same excitement his famous ancestors must have felt on their journeys. On the morning of the fourth day they reached a small cemetery. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Kenshi felt a greater silence here than in the outside world. The calm was almost depressing, it was like the world itself has ceased turning. And suddenly Kenshi began to feel his own vanity. He quickly chased off that thought.

Side by side they walked through the rows of graves. They both took great care to walk with light steps, as if they could otherwise disturb the rest of the dead. Master Song stopped in front of a big crypt. It was made of dark stone. There were some inscriptions on the front side, but the corrosion has made them unreadable during the centuries.

"This is it," said Master Song quietly.

They remained there for a moment, and Kenshi said a little prayer. Then they opened the heavy crypt door. Immediately they felt the cool air coming out from the crypt, and a musty smell along with it. Master Song handed Kenshi a flashlight. Carefully not to step on something important they entered.

Inside the crypt was a small room with a single coffin in the middle. Once more they remained silent for a moment before Master Song asked:

"Are you ready?"

The boy nodded. He tried to move the cover. But as it was made of stone, Kenshi had no success.

"Please help me, Master," he said. "It's too heavy for me alone."

The old man gave him a hand. At first it seemed that it was even too heavy for both of them together, but then they succeeded. Bit by bit they pushed the plate aside, until the stone coffin was fully opened. Inside the coffin was a mummified corpse. Across its chest lay a rusty sword. It looked quite shabby and pretty much useless.

"Is this the gift?" asked Kenshi disappointed. "What a piece of junk…"

But suddenly something caught his attention. At first he thought it was an illusion: The mummy inside the coffin began to shimmer in a green light; and it grew brighter and brighter.

"What is this, Master?" asked Kenshi. But then he saw something even more disturbing. The green light engulfed the old man, and he began to rejuvenate: his white hair turned black again, his body straightened and regained strength. His eyes were no longer those of the kind master Kenshi knew, they've become evil.

They were eyes of a demon.

While this happened the green light became so bright that it began to burn into Kenshi's eyes. Instinctively he closed them and covered them with his arms, but it was of no use. The light burned its way through his eyelids, directly into his brain.

Kenshi couldn't do anything but scream.

The swordsman awoke violently. His heart was pondering and he had difficulties to breathe. It took him several minutes until Kenshi realized where he was. He wasn't in Japan. He wasn't even in Earth Realm, but instead somewhere in the Wastelands of Outworld, where he had lied down in a sheltered place.

Although those events that had resulted in his blindness lay back more than ten years, he still had those nightmares regularly. Everyday he regretted his foolishness, and that he trusted the old man without ever having asked who he really was.

It was a miracle that Kenshi escaped from the crypt back then. He lost his conscience in the mysterious light. When he woke up, he was still holding the rusty sword in his hands. The sword he carried on his back was gone, taken away by the man who called himself Song. His head felt like it was going to explode any minute, and he had the urge to throw up. But the most terrifying thing to him was that he could not see anything. All he could feel was this horrible pain in his eyes, as if he had glowing needles inside. The pain only eased a little bit after he covered them with his bandana. He had to face an uncomfortable truth: He was blinded, left in an eternal darkness.

He carefully stood up and tried to grope his way out of the crypt while holding fast to the old weapon in his hand. When he finally arrived at the entrance he discovered the door was shut from the outside. Kenshi sank desperately to the floor; He was enclosed in this crypt. There was no way out. He would die here, next to his ancestors, as a fact of his own foolishness. In an act of desperation he screamed.

But then something bizarre happened. Suddenly his vision returned back to him, though it was altered. His surrounding was revealed to him in strange images where all he could see were shapes and shadows that disappeared again after a few seconds. It took him a few minutes before he realized it was some kind of sonar: He was only able to "see" things when he made some noise; they would appear as echo of the sounds he produced. Using his new sense and constantly hitting the walls with the old sword he found a secret passage out of the crypt.

Kenshi spent the following years to find out the identity of the man who deceived him. After a long search he learned about a new agency in the United States, the OIA. There he met Major Jackson Briggs and Lieutenant Sonya Blade. He learned from them everything there was to know about Outworld, its emperor and his henchmen. But most important of all to him was that he now knew his enemy: Shang Tsung, the sorcerer who stole the souls of Kenshi's ancestors to restore his own youth.

Kenshi stood up from his hideout and continued his way. He knew he was in a foreign and hostile realm, but he was confident, confident that his ancestors would aid him as they did years ago. Shang Tsung won't escape his revenge.

Kenshi has never been so close to his goal before.

_Meanwhile_

_Los Angeles_

_OIA Headquarter_

Sonya Blade was sitting on a chair next to her partner Jax in a large office, trying to fight her weariness. Somehow she had known that it would be bad news when she received a phone call from Jax at 5a.m. And now, one hour later, she was here, in the second floor of the old HQ.

In front of her, behind a desk made of exquisite mahogany, sat a man at the age of approximately sixty. Like Sonya and Jax, the man wore a flawlessly clean military uniform. Four golden stars on his shoulder pads marked his rank. On his desk was a little black plate with white letters on it. It read: "General Robert B. Jones". He had an expression on his face that made clear that he definitely was not amused of the latest events. Not that he has ever been amused about anything anyway.

Jax started to feel uneasy and slipped around on his chair, trying to find a comfortable position; something that didn't help to improve the general's temper.

"Do you have hemorrhoids, Major?" asked General Jones. His voice sounded so serious that Sonya had to bite her lips to prevent laughing out loud.

"No, Sir!" answered Jax hastily and straightened his body.

"And you, stop grinning," the general went on censuring Sonya "Otherwise you'll be sold as a gingerbread man on the next Christmas market!"

"Yes, Sir!" said Sonya and straightened up, too.

"Holy goodness!" said General Jones, as if he was chastising some small kids. "Would you please sit comfortably?"

After the two OIA-agents sat in a neither too sloppy nor too stiff stance, the general went on with his main subject:

"Now, here is a little summit of the past forty-eight hours: Our headquarter in Alaska was bombed, ten agents lost their lives, and another employee of our department was murdered right here in this building. I would be very grateful if you two had some explanations for that..."

"We believe that it was the work of the Black Dragon Clan," said Sonya.

"Do you just believe so or do you have proves?" asked the general.

"We don't have any proves so far," said Sonya. "But the hints are evident, we are working on it."

"You want to know what I think of this?" asked Jones. Without waiting for an answer he told them. "I think we are facing a major crises, there are spies among us."

"Sir, are you saying we have a mole?" asked Jax.

"Yes, and don't act so surprised, Major," said Jones. "How did otherwise any member of the Black Dragon manage to enter our facility while we have pictures from all of them?"

"So, what shall we do, Sir?" asked Sonya.

"Do I really have to tell you? Check the backgrounds of everyone in this facility, and I mean everyone, understood? Check where they come from, who their parents are and how they drink their coffee in the morning, just everything… And find Agent Hsu Hao, he was the last one seen coming out from the data base."

"We already tried to reach him, Sir, but without success," said Sonya.

"Then try harder!" shouted General Jones. "He's our main suspect!"

"Yes, Sir!" answered Sonya.

"Yes, Sir!" said Jax.

"I know that you two are having a hard time," said Jones in a softer tone. "Therefore I've called someone to support you. Gemini will arrive shortly."

"I thought Gemini left the army," said Jax.

"That's right, she's working as councilor in a company now," said General Jones. "But she has promised to help us in our present situation. Do you have any further questions?"

"No, Sir!" answered Sonya and Jax simultaneously.

"Good, you may leave now," said Jones.

Just as they wanted to leave the office, General Jones held them back.

"Lieutenant Blade, I would like to talk to you privately," he said.

"Of course, Sir," said Sonya.

"I'll wait outside," whispered Jax before he left the office.

When they were alone, General Jones stood up from his seat.

"This should have been a more delightful day for you; the ministry has decided unanimously to promote you to the rank of a captain. You did good work in the last year fighting the Black Dragon Clan. Members like Jarek would have escaped without your effort" He stepped in front of Sonya and added a small golden stripe on each of her shoulder pads. "Congratulations, Captain!"

"Thank you, Sir!" said Sonya, straightened herself up and saluted.

General Jones replied the salute and released Sonya from his office.

Jax was pacing back and forth impatiently outside, when Sonya met him.

"Okay, I got message that Gemini has just arrived," he said. "Let's go see her."

"So tell me, who is this Gemini?" asked Sonya.

"She's the best computer programmer I've ever met," said Jax. "And the most beautiful. We worked together years back to arrest some of Kano's companions."

"It sounds like you really fancy her," said Sonya "But isn't Gemini is a pretty weird name for a lady?"

"Maybe so," said Jax. "But you'll see why when you meet her." He paused for some seconds. "By the way, congratulation to your promotion."

"You knew about it?" asked Sonya.

"Hey, now you're insulting me," said Jax. "I'm not ignorant, you know?"

"Sorry," said Sonya.

"Excuse accepted," replied Jax.

A woman was awaiting them when they arrived at the entrance hall. She had shoulder-long chestnut brown hair, framing her slim face, dark eyes and remarkable wide lips. She was dressed in a very masculine way in a dark costume and a white shirt, combined with a ruby-colored tie.

"My name is Gemini," she spoke to Sonya, almost completely ignoring Jax. "Very nice to meet you."

When Sonya wanted to shake her hand she made a surprising experience: Instead of touching Gemini's hand Sonya's grip went right through her, as if she consisted of thin air.

"A hologram?" while Sonya still was struck in surprise, another female voice behind her said:

"Excuse me, I couldn't resist playing this small trick."

Sonya turned around and saw another woman who looked exactly the same as the one next to her.

"My name is Gemini," she continued and shook hands with Sonya, this time there were no surprises.

"And who is this?" asked Sonya confused and pointed on the hologram which was still standing there.

"Well, this is the reason why I'm called Gemini. She's like a real twin sister to me and assists me in my work." She said a little louder: "Standby mode", and the hologram disappeared. Gemini faced Jax who she had ignored so far. "Jackson, it's nice to see you again."

"I'm happy to see you, too," replied Jax. Then he fell silent. It seemed that for the first time he didn't know what to say.

"Shall we go to work?" asked Gemini with a smile that made her mouth even wider. "I heard you need to recover some lost data."

"Yes, let's start."

Together they entered the database in the cellar of the facility. Several agents were still busy securing possible traces of the assassin. The computer Vanessa Reyes worked on just before her demise was moved to the main room. Gemini switched it on and starred silently at the monitor.

"This is definitely not good," she finally said. "Who ever did this, he knew what he was doing. He used a program which not only destroyed the structure of the original data, but rewrote the hard drive about twenty times."

"Is there nothing you can do?" asked Jax.

"Not much. I will at least try to save a few fragments, so be a good boy and have patience, Jackson." Then she raised her voice and said: "Vision mode."

In less than on second the hologram reappeared. Surprisingly the holographic woman was sitting on a chair as well.

"What can I do?" asked the hologram.

"Scan the hard drive and try to restore as many files as possible," said Gemini.

"Task in progress," replied the hologram.

Sonya watched fascinated while Gemini did her work. Every single step was well planed and perfectly synchronized. It almost seemed that they were one mind. Now Sonya understood why she was called Gemini, the Greece words for twins.

A cell phone rang. Sonya apologized and left the room where she could talk without disturbing anyone. It was only a short conversation, but it seemed that she received good news: She was smiling again, for the first time in two days. She reminded Jax that it was time to get to the airport for their flight to Hong Kong.

"Got some good news?" asked Jax when they left the building.

"Yes, it seems that there are survivors," said Sonya. "Stryker found notes saying that the agents Kenshi and Cyrax were on a mission in Outworld when the explosion occurred."

"I don't want to spoil your happiness", replied Jax. "But this can only mean that they are now stuck in Outworld, without a possibility to return."

Sonya had to admit that her partner was right. Outworld was a place no one wished to stay any minute longer than absolutely necessary.

"Why do you have to be such a damn pessimist?" she asked.

"I'm just being realistic," replied Jax.


	6. Chapter 5: The Gathering

**CHAPTER 5: THE GATHERING**

_9.42 p.m._

_Hong Kong_

_China_

A full moon shone through the clouds that covered the sky like a thin veil. The moonlight was reflected on the water, which surged in soft waves against the stonewall of the shore. There was a wind in the air, not freezing, but nonetheless cool enough to let Sonya close her dark gray jacket. While she walked along the coast next to Jax her weariness slowly went away. After she was awakened so early this morning she wanted to recover some sleep during the flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, but for some reason her partner Jax urged her to watch the movie they were showing on the plane. In the end Sonya complied.

She was surprised to discover that it was a David-Wieland-movie, which was titled "The Year of the Snake", and the main part was played by none other than Johnny Cage. In this movie the private detective investigated in a case in which the Triads, the Chinese Mafia, were involved. At the end of the story Wieland / Cage once more saved the world, and in addition of course a beautiful girl who was so dumb that one had to wonder how she had managed to survive.

That was one of the main reasons Sonya detested those movies, they just had to many clichés. She had nothing against Johnny personally though. He was a good friend, and they even had a short relationship. It was one of the things only few people around her knew; one of them was Jax. Maybe that was why he wanted her to watch this stupid movie.

"Are we at the correct location?" asked Jax. He had stopped and was now looking for an orientation point.

"Why do you ask me?" replied Sonya. "You're the one who's playing around with the GPS-receiver all the time."

"Well, according to the GPS, we are at the coordinates written in Raiden's letter, but still I would have been more comfortable if he had left some sort of an address."

"What are you expecting?" asked Sonya. "Something like a street-sign saying 'Shore-bank on the left of the Ocean'?"

"It was just a thought, okay?" said Jax. "Why are you so pissed?"

"Sorry," Sonya apologized herself. "Must be the lack of sleep. But if you feel saver: yes, we are right. This is the place where Liu Kang, Johnny and I took off for the tournament ten years ago."

Jax looked around once more. Indeed he could see the remaining of an old harbor, but it must have been decades or even centuries ago since a ship stopped here the last time. Everything appeared old and worn-down.

"I guess we are the first ones," said Sonya. "There is nothing we can do but wait."

A few minutes later they heard a rattle. At first it was very faint and hardly audible with the rushing of water in the background. But with the time it grew louder. When Jax and Sonya turned towards the ocean they saw a floating light approaching. Soon they had to cover their eyes from the spotlight.

"A helicopter. I wonder who this might be," said Jax. But his voice said that he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it's him," said Sonya.

Meanwhile the helicopter has reached the shore. It turned around so that it floated parallel to the road. The door was opened, and a single man jumped out. He was dressed in a dinner-suit, combined with a black fly. His hair was styled up and fixed with some gel to prevent the wind from destroying his hairstyle. He gave the pilot a sign; the chopper turned once more and left the place.

"Hi guys!" said Johnny with a large grin in his face. "Where are my fans? Oh sorry, I forgot, this one is for VIPs only."

"Where are you going? This won't be a dinner party, you know?" said Sonya, but something in her eyes said that she actually liked the way Johnny Cage was styled.

"Thanks, I'm fine, and I'm glad to see you, too," said Johnny, still grinning. He greeted Jax with a simple nod of his head and turned towards Sonya. "Hey, you look great. Cool jacket, and is this a new hair style you have?"

"Okay, that's enough," said Sonya. "You don't have to flatter me, we already slept with each other, remember?"

"Yeah right," said Johnny. "I was just doing it because I hoped we could repeat it."

"Let's talk about it later, first we have to get through this thing tonight," said Sonya.

"Promised?" whispered Johnny.

"Hey, you two, should I leave you alone?" asked Jax.

"No," said Sonya and cleared her throat. "We're done." Then she whispered back to Johnny: "Promised!"

"Say, where did you get that chopper?" asked Jax.

"Oh, I have a friend here in Hong Kong. He's a pilot. He did me a favor because I was a bit late. And I didn't want to get stuck in the traffic while you guys have to save the world," after a short break he asked: "By the way, does someone of you know what this exactly is about?"

"No, I'm afraid, not," said Jax. "Raiden was pulling off that mysterious thunder-god-thing, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know," said Johnny. He realized that Sonya wasn't listening. She was starring out to the sea instead. "Is there something interesting?" he asked her.

Sonya raised one hand and pointed with her finger out to the open water. When Johnny followed her finger, he discovered a small spot, and after a while he saw that it was a transparent boot with two passengers. Although only one of them was rowing, the boat was moving at a pretty high speed.

"Wow, that's something you don't get to see everyday," said Johnny. "A glass boat."

"I doubt that it is made of glass," said Sonya. "But you don't get to see such a thing everyday, I agree with that." After a while she added: "Looks like Grandmaster Sub-Zero brought the chilblain along with him."

"Chilblain?" asked Johnny in a puzzled way.

"Actually, her name is Frost. She's a new member of the Lin Kuei and Sub-Zero's personal student," explained Sonya, then she added: "And she's an arrogant bitch."

"You really like her, huh?" said Johnny ironically. "Say, is she pretty?"

Sonya unwillingly rolled her eyes. Was this the only thing this man could think of? "Believe me, Johnny, you don't want to meet her. For my part, I already had this unpleasant experience."

A few minutes later the boat arrived at the shore. Sub-Zero and Frost got out of the boat. The Grandmaster then melted their boat by absorbing it. After he was done he greeted the others with a respectful bow. Frost followed his example. Both of them were unmasked, and Johnny Cage discovered that Sub-Zero had grown older since the last time they met. He was getting white strands of hair. But this only made him appear more dignified and wiser. As far as it concerned his companion, she indeed was pretty. She had short brown hair and dark eyes with rather long eyelashes.

"Did you row the boat by yourself all the way, Grandmaster?" asked Sonya. "That must have been quite an effort."

"No, Lieutenant," answered Frost in his place. "We relieved each other from time to time. It would certainly have been a too big strain if the grandmaster did this all alone. Besides, he had to renew the ice several times."

"Thank you for informing me, Frost," said Sonya with a humorless smile. "And by the way, I'm Captain now."

"Congratulations, Captain," replied Frost coldly. Then she turned away, and the conversation between her and Sonya was over.

After a few minutes a taxicab stopped on the street beside them. The man getting out was Kung Lao. He was dressed in his ceremonial fighting suit. As always he was carrying his hat too, not on his head, but on his back instead. He looked serious. There was only a short smile on his face when he greeted his friend. But that was nothing unusual. While Liu Kang had a sincere character that had brought him many friends, Kung Lao was more reserved and thoughtful. Nonetheless he was as much respected as his Shaolin brother.

"Hey, Kung Lao!" said Johnny. "I thought Liu Kang would come with you."

"No," answered Kung Lao. "I've moved to another town some months ago."

"O sorry, I didn't know," said Johnny.

"Why do you apologize yourself?" asked Kung Lao "You didn't say anything insulting."

Their conversation was interrupted when two figures came walking along the path. One of them was the god of thunder, as always dressed in blue and white. Next to him walked Liu Kang, the present champion of Mortal Kombat, wearing a white shirt and red slacks.

The friends gave Liu Kang a warm welcome when they saw him. But when Kung Lao embraced him and shook his hand, he suddenly had an uneasy feeling. He didn't know what it exactly was, but he was certain that there was something wrong. Before he could think about it, the feeling was gone. Nothing was unusual about his friend; he was the same as always.

After the greeting ceremony they lined up in a row while Raiden took his position in front of the seven warriors and began to speak in loud and clear words:

"Dear friends, I'm happy to see that you were all able to come here. Once more, the forces of evil threaten Earth Realm. But I'm confident that we will overcome any enemies if we combine our strength. So do not fear what's lying before us!"

"I don't mean to show any disrespect, Lord Raiden," said Sonya. "But you still haven't told us the exact reason for coming here."

"Please be patient," said Raiden. "You will know it soon enough. But this isn't the right place to discuss this sort of things. So I would suggest we move to the Hidden Island."

"Isn't that Shang Tsung's island?" asked Sonya. "Is it really a good idea to go there?"

"You're wrong," said Raiden. "It is not Shang Tsung's island. Actually it belongs to no one. The sorcerer held the tournament there because it was neutral."

"And how are we supposed to get there?" asked Johnny.

Raiden didn't answer him. Instead he turned towards the sea and began some sort of chanting. His voice grew louder, while he did some gestures with his hands as if he was trying to lift something up. At first it seemed that nothing happened, then suddenly the water began to bubble, as if the whole sea was boiled on a giant oven. Slowly something began to rise from the depth. At first there were just some posts sticking out from the surface, but by the time more and more arose from the water, until it was completely floating in the harbor: A giant wooden ship with white sails. Those who competed in the first tournament immediately recognized it: it was the very same ship that had brought them to their first Mortal Kombat. On the head side of it was an emblem they all knew just too well: The head of a dragon inside a circle, with narrow, evil looking eyes and a split tongue like that of a snake. It was the emblem of Mortal Kombat. The material of the ship looked rotten. Under normal circumstances no one would have even set a foot on a ship like this. But ten years ago it had already brought the warriors safely to the island. And this time it will be no different.

"Wow, Master Yoda is really nothing compared to him," said Johnny respectfully.

"Master… who?" asked Sonya.

"Master Yoda," repeated Johnny. "Don't say you have never seen Star Wars."

"No, I don't like Science Fiction," said Sonya.

"You've never seen Star Wars? Never ever?" said Johnny in disbelief. "Man, your life was so… meaningless!"

"Thanks, you certainly know how to cheer up a girl," replied Sonya. She turned back to Raiden who gave the sign to go on board.

After several hours on the ship the warriors saw land on the horizon. They were now approaching the island with the lonesome mountain in the middle. When they arrived at the coast they went off board and made their way across a beach with sand as white as snow.

"Lord Raiden, you said after the tournament back then that this island was sinking into the ocean," remembered Sonya. "How come that we can be here?"

"Normally this island lies under water. There are only a few days in the year when it appears," explained Raiden.

"I guess we should be feeling pretty lucky then that we hit the right time," said Johnny.

"We certainly are lucky, Johnny" said Raiden.

The eight warriors made their way through a field path that slowly ascended the mountain in serpentines. On both sides of the path was grass, which reached to their waist. Beyond the grassland were huge trees with thick branches and large crowns. If someone walked into that place, he would never find his way back again.

After half an hour the road ended in a big open space with a fireplace in the middle. Together they collected some wood and piled it up to a stack. Afterwards Liu Kang lit it up by shooting a fireball on it. When all was done, the warriors sat down in a circle around the fire, and Raiden began his speech:

"Ages ago, the Elder Gods ordered their servants to found a tournament. There was no prize for the winner but the knowledge that one had done his best. Neither was it intended to kill those who had lost. And so, Mortal Kombat wasn't about death or conquering any realms. It was a holy competition held not between gods, but between mortals like you, with the only purpose to honor the Elder Gods. Those days are long gone. Ruthless rulers like Shao Kahn have corrupted the rules, changing Mortal Kombat into the tournament you know today."

Raiden paused, as if he wanted to check the reactions of the warriors.

"You all know about the events of the past few years," he continued. "Princess Kitana was able to free her mother, Queen Sindel, from the grip of Shao Kahn. He failed in his latest attempts to conquer Earth Realm and to regain control over Edenia. With a few words, he's on the edge of being ultimately defeated. But maybe you have heard of the ancient Chinese saying that goes: 'A healthy tiger is dangerous, but a wounded tiger is deadly.' Right now, Shao Kahn is making preparations for a final assault on Edenia. And if Edenia falls, it will be the end of Earth Realm, too."

The thunder god paused again. When he saw the sorrow in the faces of the warriors, he said:

"But you should know that Kitana is a brilliant strategist, and the Royal Army of Edenia is full of courageous men and women willing to defend their realm till the very end. I'm confident that Edenia won't fall anytime soon."

"It's something else you're worried about, isn't it?" asked Kung Lao.

Raiden fell silent for some seconds as if he was searching for the right words. "A few days ago the Council of the Elder Gods learned that one of the mortal creatures banished to the fifth plane of the Netherrealm has successfully escaped. Soon after we discovered that it was the sorcerer Quan Chi."

"This Netherrealm is not very well secured then if escaping is so easy," said Johnny.

"That's exactly what troubles me," said Raiden. "Normally it should be impossible to escape from there. So he must have had some help."

"Didn't Shinnok manage to escape from there?" asked Sonya. "Maybe he supported the sorcerer."

"No," said Raiden. "Shinnok was defeated. His power was broken. It will take him a long time to recover. Yet it was an item Shinnok once possessed, which gave Quan Chi the power he needed to flee from his prison. It is an amulet, a part of an holy artifact we, the Elder Gods, created to protect the realms."

"What kind of artifact?" asked Jax.

"You don't need to concern about that," said Raiden. "For you it is more important to know that this amulet has led Quan Chi to a secret cave, where he found the mummified army of the Dragon King."

"The Dragon King, huh?" said Johnny. "Sounds to me like some cheap video game. Who is that?"

"His name was Onaga. He was the ruler of Outworld before Shao Kahn assassinated him and claimed the throne for himself. The legend says that Onaga's army was undefeatable. Some say that he could only stay on his throne for so long because of this army."

"And still, Shao Kahn defeated him?" asked Kung Lao. "How did he do that?"

"Shao Kahn wasn't stupid. As the most trusted general in Onaga's army he knew that it wasn't him who relied on his mummified warriors, but that it was the warriors relying on him. They only reason why this army fought was because Onaga was controlling it in a way even unknown to the Elder Gods. Shao Kahn used an intrigue. He pulled Queen Sindel onto his side and ordered her Royal Army to fight Onaga's mummified army. As he knew that Onaga would be totally defenseless as long as he was controlling his soldiers, it was a child's play for Shao Kahn to kill Onaga in this situation. After his victory he decided not to destroy the army. He hoped that one day he could find a way to control it himself. But he had no success. And with the time he forgot about the whole thing."

"But now, that Quan Chi escaped, and discovered the army, he could help Shao Kahn with his black magic to control the army…" It was Jax who tried to continue Raiden's thought.

"No, I guess it's not all that bad," said Raiden. "There is a deep hostility between Quan Chi and the emperor. He would rather die than helping Shao Kahn. But he will most certainly try to use the army for his own goals. He will try to activate the mummified warriors. And therefore he has already found an powerful ally: Shang Tsung."

"What does it matter who wants to conquer Earth Realm? The situation won't change" complained Kung Lao.

"You forget the fact that Shao Kahn won't stand idly by if the sorcerers try to take over Earth," said Raiden. "He will have to fight them, too. We have to use that circumstance to our own advantage."

"Lord Raiden, you have never told us why everyone wants Earth Realm so badly," said Kung Lao. "There must be some reason to it."

"Yes, there is a reason," said Raiden. "Earth Realm is named Mother Realm everywhere else. The name refers to the fabric of the realms. The Mother Realm is essential to the structure of all dimensions. Should anyone ever conquer Earth Realm, he would be able to conquer all other realms just like this," he snapped with his fingers as demonstration. "And that's why the Elder Gods protected Earth Realm for eons and sealed it away from the rest. So, you see that's the reason why I've called you here tonight. We can't let anyone from the other realm succeed in their ambitions to conquer Earth, neither Shao Kahn nor Quan Chi or Shang Tsung."

There was a long silence. The warriors needed time to fully understand their present situation.

"So, what can we do about it?" asked Kung Lao.

"Our main priority is to gather more information and to find more allies for our battle. When we are ready, we will try to lure the two sorcerers out of their hideout. We have to defeat them before they succeed in reviving the army."

"And what about the war in Edenia?" asked Liu Kang sorrowfully.

"We will try to stay out of that as much as possible," answered Raiden.

"We are not going to support them? Not at all?"

"I said that the Royal Army of Edenia will be able to stop the Shao Kahn's forces now, didn't I?" said Raiden. "There are more important things lying before us."

"Fine," said Liu Kang. "So, what exactly should we do?"

"We will split up in three groups. The first group will return to Earth Realm. There you must find Nightwolf. Surely you remember who that is, don't you? He possesses information, which is of great importance to us. The second group will go to Outworld. A man decided to live his life in loneliness there long time ago. You will find him at the base of the Charred Mountain near to the Living Forrest. He's a master of many fighting styles. His name is Bo' Rai Cho."

"Bo' Rai Cho? Isn't that the man who trained you, Liu Kang?" asked Kung Lao.

"That's right," said Liu Kang. "But I didn't know he is Outworld now. I haven't seen him anymore in ages."

"Outworld is Bo' Rai Cho's home realm," explained Raiden und glanced at Liu Kang. "I guess the best place in the world is still your own home. Now, let's talk about the third group. Their task will be the most difficult and the most dangerous. The third group has to enter the tempest and go there where a war rages these days, to Edenia. There you have to meet with two people. One of them is the queen of that realm, Sindel. She is the only one who faced Onaga's mummified army personally. The other one is a man named Shujinko. He's general of the Royal Army of Edenia…"

"Did you just say 'Shujinko'?" asked Sub-Zero. He sounded surprised.

"Yes, why do you ask? Do you know him?" asked Raiden.

"If I'm remembering correctly, there was a man named Shujinko who was trained by the Lin Kuei. It was before my time in the clan. The strange thing about him was that he left the clan again after his training. Back then there was a codex that forbade any members to leave the clan; anyone who tried was killed by assassins."

"Maybe he was just lucky, and they never found him," said Frost.

"No, the Lin Kuei never failed or even gave up," replied Sub-Zero. "It was more like they never tried to pursuit him after he left."

"I have to admit that there is something mysterious about this man," said Raiden. "He came to Edenia two years ago. Queen Sindel immediately made him a member of the Royal Army where he worked his way up to his present position." He fell silent for a while. "But I guess it's no use to muse about it right now. As a matter of fact he did a lot of research on ancient artifacts, and he went on many journeys to gather information on this subject. If anyone knows anything about the amulet in Quan Chi's possession, then it's him. That would be all. We should now decide which group goes where."

"Hey," said Kung Lao and pushed Liu Kang with his elbow. "How about us going to Outworld and paying your old teacher a visit?"

"No!" said Liu Kang firmly.

"Why not?" asked Kung Lao.

"I don't want to see him," was Liu Kang's answer.

"Okay, but you will meet him soon anyway…"

"I just don't want to see him now," said Liu Kang. "Is that reason enough?"

"Keep your shirt on! It was just a suggestion," said Kung Lao. He wondered about the strange behavior of his friend, but decided to put this subject aside.

"Let's go to Edenia," said Liu Kang after a while. "I want to see Kitana, I just want to see her one more time, and then I can find my peace."

"Why do you say that?" asked Kung Lao who began to worry seriously about his friend now.

"You never know what happens next," said Liu Kang.

"Hey, this man is really worried about Kitana," said Johnny Cage half joking, as he did so often. "That must be true love!"

"Say what you like," said Liu Kang and fell silent again.

"Then Frost and I go to Outworld," said Sub-Zero. "That is, if you agree with my decision."

"Of course, I will follow you anywhere you desire," said Frost with an almost exaggerated devotion.

"I guess that makes us the ones to look for Nightwolf," said Sonya. Then she added in a strict tone as if it was a military order: "Johnny, you're coming with us!"

"Yes, Ma'am," answered Johnny and saluted.

"Now that's what I call love," joked Jax.

"Fine, it's all decided now," said Raiden. "You can take a nap if you like. We will leave in two hours!"

Two hours later the warriors extinguished the fire except for some torches they took with them. They packed all their stuff together and continued their way. The path led them deeper and deeper through the jungle. The sky above them was pitch-dark. A total silence surrounded them. The only thing they heard from time to time was the calling of an owl and the sound of grasshoppers. Raiden marched ahead; he held a torch in his left hand, while holding his long bamboo staff in his right. The soft light engulfed his body.

Sonya was walking at the tail of the group; near her was Sub-Zero. When Frost went ahead, she talked to him.

"Grandmaster, I want to ask you for a favor," she said.

"Whatever I can do for you, just tell me," said Sub-Zero.

"There has been an assault on the OIA headquarter," said Sonya. "Two agents are missing since that incidence. One of them is Cyrax. The other one is a blind swordsman named Kenshi. Jax and I believe that they are trapped in Outworld due to the assault. I know that it's hard to find them, as they could be anywhere in that realm. But if you happen to see one of them or both, please bring them back home. I don't want to accuse myself later because I haven't tried everything to find them."

"I will do as much as I can," said Sub-Zero. "But I don't want to promise you anything."

"Thank you, Grandmaster Sub-Zero," said Sonya.

"Thank me later," he replied. "I haven't found them yet."

After some time through the darkness they suddenly saw a bright spot in the distance.

"What is this?" asked Kung Lao.

"The reason why I've brought you here," answered Raiden. "This island is directly connected to the Nexus, the only place with dimension portals to the six biggest realms. And it is the only place."

Only a few minutes later the warriors arrived at the source of the light. It was a giant orb, shining so bright that it hurt in the eyes, after they were now used to the darkness. The orb was floating a few inches above the ground, as if it was held by an invisible hand.

"Come closer!" said Raiden. "The entrance is for free."

When they went through the orb, they felt a strange and yet comfortable warmth. It seemed harder for them to move their legs, as if they had to move through some kind of thick ooze. They couldn't see anything before them except for the brightness.

And then they were through. They arrived on a large round platform. Six big rings were positioned around them: the dimension portals. There were some tall pillars too, with fire burning on top of them. Beyond the platform was an endless void. When the eight warriors approached the portals, they all began to shine, each in a different color.

"The green portal leads back to Earth Realm, the purple one to Outworld, and the blue one to Edenia," said Raiden. "Go now, we will meet again in ten days."

"But where?" asked Johnny. "And how should we get there, wherever that is?"

"If you find your contacts, they will tell you," said Raiden. "Good luck!"

"I hope that they have an agreement about the meeting point," said Sonya and went through the green portal.

Raiden still remained a little longer after all warriors were gone. Just as he was about to teleport himself away, he felt a breeze of cool air in his face, and less than a second later a man appeared in front of Raiden. His slim face appeared younger than Raiden's face. He had long white hair, braided to a plait. He was dressed in a fashionable sleeveless vest, dark slacks and leather boots. In his right hand he held a winded staff.

"I knew that you would be here," he said. His voice sounded relaxed, but his lips were pressed to a thin line. "Are your friends okay?"

"Are you spying on me, Fujin?" asked Raiden.

"I just wanted to check on you," said the god of wind.

"Thanks, but I can very well take care of myself," said Raiden.

"The others are thinking different about that," replied Fujin. "Lady Ruezar is really upset about what you have done, not to say, she's furious."

"What have I done to upset the goddess of water?" asked Raiden.

"Come on, do I really have to tell you?" asked Fujin. "First, you relinquished your status as Elder God again…"

"What I do with my status as Elder God is my concerning only."

"Fine," continued Fujin. His voice turned harder. "What about the thing with Liu Kang? You had no right to do such a thing on your own."

"I had no choice," said Raiden. "He is the champion of Mortal Kombat, there is no other."

"Nonsense!" shouted Fujin. "Look around you, the world is full of talented warriors. Kung Lao for example could have become his successor."

Suddenly Raiden felt annoyed by his companion. "Why are you picking on me? Do I have to remind you that Quan Chi has escaped from the Netherrealm? Or that five of the six Kamidogu were stolen from their original places?"

"Don't change the subject," said Fujin. "You have broken the most important rule of all, Mortal Kombat is about the living, not the dead."

"The rules were already broken long ago! Shao Kahn corrupted them, and we did nothing, we just stood idly by until now…"

"But answering a crime with another one doesn't make it right! What you have done will never be justified!"

"This conversation won't do any good," said Raiden and turned away from Fujin. "Tell Ruezar that I will explain myself personally in a few days." He was about to leave when Fujin called him back.

"Whatever you're planning next, take care, my friend" said Fujin. "You are walking on a dangerous path." Then he watched as Raiden teleported away. "Looks like Delia was right," he said to himself. "The end is coming…"


	7. Chapter 6: Eternal Yearning

_A.N.: It appears that there aren't many stories with femslash around here, that's why I decided to bring up one myself. So, you're warned. I won't feel offended if you don't like it. But of course I would be most pleased if you do like it. Anyways, have fun!_

_NEM3SIS_

**CHAPTER 6: ETERNAL YEARNING **

_7972 B.C._

_Private Academy of Saruga_

_Free Realm of Edenia_

The Academy situated in the capital was famous throughout the whole realm. Anyone who had the status of an aristocrat or was otherwise rich enough to afford a study for their children sent their offspring to this private school. The school building was a big and heavy looking structure, which in fact revealed itself as two separate houses at a more careful look. Both buildings were connected with each other by a long hallway. It almost seemed that the ancient architects wanted to prove the saying that there was no knowledge that wasn't power at the same time.

In one of the buildings were the classrooms where the lessons were held. The other building provided rooms for the students, as all of them had to stay at the academy for the whole period of their education. And this was where Kitana and Tanya lived now. Shao Kahn had shown himself most generously. He did not only pay the fee for Kitana, but also for Tanya who would otherwise never had the chance for such an education. Actually, orphans had no chance of getting educations at all in those days, so that they were either forced to hard labor or to survive as beggars. And many of them have become criminal. That was the dark side of Sindel's fairy tale realm, and it has grown a lot worse since Shao Kahn has been crowned king.

Now both girls were living in two apartments next to each other. Each apartment contained a narrow bed, a wooden bookshelf, a small washroom and a place to cook. It was the philosophy of the academy that even if the students would most likely have servants for everything the rest of their lives, they should at least learn to live on their own for the period of their education. Kitana actually liked the life at her small apartment. She was experiencing a sort of freedom she would probably never have again. It was clear to her that as the princess of Edenia she would be living in a golden cage for the rest of her live, with servants and advisors making every single decision for her while all eyes were resting on her.

Time flew by, and seven years have passed since Kitana's entry in the academy. In a few months she was going to have her final exam. And she used all her time to prepare herself for it. That was why she could be found at her desk late at night, reading heavy looking books or writing essays about negotiation laws.

At one night someone knocked on her door. Kitana took a quick look at the crystal water can of the time measurement device; it has already passed the first segment of the new day. She wondered who it could be at this time.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's me," answered a female voice, which was well known to the princess. It was Tanya.

Kitana opened the door. The first thing she realized about her friend was the way she was dressed. She was wearing an elegant long yellow dress with black patterns on it, combined with black boots and gloves reaching her elbows, leaving her fingers uncovered. Her hair was tied to a ponytail behind her back.

"Hi!" she said happily. "What are you doing?"

"The usual," answered Kitana. "Learning for the exam of negotiation laws. What about you?"

"I had enough of theology books for today, so I decided to take a walk to the garden," said Tanya. "And I thought that you might want to come with me."

"What? At this time?" asked Kitana.

"Why not?" replied Tanya. "So, what do you say?"

"I'm pretty tired," said Kitana. "I guess I'll go to bed soon. But thanks anyway."

"I see," said Tanya who seemed to be disappointed for a second. But then she cheered up again. "You know, only learning for the exam the whole day won't make you happy."

"But taking a walk with you will?" asked Kitana.

"Sure," said Tanya self-confidently.

"Fine, you've convinced me," said Kitana. "Just give me another minute."

"Great!" said Tanya. She seemed to grow even happier than before.

"But don't make me regret my decision," said Kitana half joking.

"I won't, I swear," said Tanya.

A big garden was situated behind the building. This was the place where students cultivated plants for natural research, but also fruits and vegetables for their daily meals. Kitana thought that it would be abandoned at nighttime. But she soon discovered that she was wrong.

The garden was filled with young people, dancing inside a big circle of torches. A quartette of students delivered the music for the dance. There was a girl playing on a big harp, another one played a violin with three strings, a boy blew some sort of a bagpipe and a fourth musician was beating drums. Together they played traditional Edenian music, which was dominated by a quick rhythm on the one hand and had very beautiful melodies on the other hand. As a result, the dance was pretty lively, too. The students were dancing in couples: while facing each other they jumped in complicated patterns, always doing new variations of moves.

"I didn't expect that much people here at night," said Kitana.

"That's why I wanted you to come here with me," said Tanya. "You have missed quite a few things in the past seven years."

They stood there silently and watched a little longer. After some minutes the four musicians paused for a while, and then they began to play another piece of music.

"Hey! That's my favorite!" said Tanya enthusiastically. Her eyes began to shine bright. She turned to Kitana, took her by the hand and said: "Dance with me!"

"Uh… what?" asked Kitana who didn't expect that request. "But I can't dance…"

"You're kidding, right?" asked Tanya and looked at the princess. "No, I guess not. Anyways, then I just have to teach you. A princess must know how to dance. Come on, let's go!"

Kitana saw that there was no point in refusing Tanya's demand, so she followed her into the circle and tried to copy her steps. But it turned out harder than expected. Soon Kitana found herself struggling hard to concentrate on her steps and on the music at the same time. She grew more and more frustrated until she decided to leave.

"This is no good," she said.

But Tanya held her back. "You're thinking too much, stop thinking," she said. "And don't stare at your feet all the time. You are still wearing the same boots like yesterday. Close your eyes and let the music flow through your body."

Indignantly Kitana gave it a second try. She followed Tanya's advice, closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the music only. Indeed it was getting better. Her moves became more fluently. She danced almost naturally until the music stopped again. She opened her eyes, and it was then that she realized that Tanya was watching her with a big smile in her face.

"See, it is not that difficult," she said.

"What's so funny?" asked Kitana. "Did I do something weird?"

"No," answered Tanya who was still smiling. "I'm just glad to see you enjoying yourself. What's wrong about that?"

"Nothing," said Kitana who found herself smiling as well. "It's that I've never seen you so happy before."

"I have to tell you something," said Tanya and lowered her voice. "I fell in love."

"So that's why!" said Kitana. "Not that I'm curious, but tell me: who is the lucky boy?"

Tanya stepped closer to Kitana and moved her head forward until their cheeks touched each other. "I'm in love with you," she whispered into Kitana's ear.

"What?" asked Kitana. The answer had so totally surprised her that she wondered if she had heard it right.

"I'm in love with you," repeated Tanya.

"Say it again!" demanded Kitana, although this time she understood it perfectly well.

"I'm in love with you," said Tanya.

"Again!" said Kitana.

"I'm in love with you," and thereafter, Tanya did no longer wait for Kitana's request. She just continued on and on: "I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you…" She would have repeated that sentence forever, if Kitana hadn't interrupted her words with a kiss on her lips. It was a long and passionate kiss, one that was as described in many love poems, one that was said to be unforgettable. And whoever it was that had the idea of compare it with a purple velvet sky, he was damn right.

After a while they noticed that it was silent around them, although the music should have started again. But not only that, no one said a word; it was perfectly quiet. When Kitana and Tanya looked around they discovered that everyone was watching. While Kitana felt a little bit embarrassed, Tanya said with a loud voice:

"So what? Never seen a kissing couple?"

It remained silent for a while longer, but then everyone began to cheer and to claps their hands. The music restarted, and one by one the couples began to dance again while Kitana and Tanya just remained in their embrace without saying a word.

"Let's go somewhere quiet," said Kitana.

"Do you think we both fit into one of those beds?" asked Tanya.

"I don't know," answered Kitana. "But I'd say it's worth a try…"

They left the garden hand in hand while the other couples continued dancing, as if love was the only thing that kept the world spinning.

It was a rather rude awakening in the morning. The sun still hadn't fully risen when the door to Kitana's room was bumped open with a loud crash, and a girl wearing a green training suit marched in. She was one of Kitana's friends she met here. She was the athletic type of girl who began everyday with two hours of walking, and it has become a ritual that Kitana walked along with her.

While the girl was inside Kitana's room, she called out loud:

"Good morning, Kitana! It is time for our daily walk!" when she received no answer, she called out a little louder: "Come on, princess! You know what they say about early birds, don't you?"

To her surprise it was not Kitana who rose from the bed. "Yes, early birds are stupid and annoying, they're stupid because they get up when everyone else is still sleeping and they're annoying because they wake everyone else up just because they're feeling lonely!" said Tanya. Her tangled hair was dropping into her face and covered it like a curtain, and she didn't even cared about covering herself body in front of the girl dressed in green.

"What… what are you doing here?" asked the girl. "And why are you…"

At that moment Kitana sat up next to Tanya. She rubbed her eyes, yawned and said: "O, excuse me, Jade. I've totally forgotten you. But last night it was so extremely cold, that I allowed Tanya to sleep here so we were able to hold each other warm."

Jade chuckled nervously and said: "Maybe I should have knocked on the door first? I think I better get going now…" She turned around and left hastily.

"You have forgotten to lock the door," said Tanya and dropped back onto the pillow.

"Usually I don't lock the door," said Kitana. "Why should I? It's save here."

"Yeah, but now you have a reason," said Tanya and kissed Kitana on the forehead.

"What time is it?" asked Kitana. Her voice indicated that she was slowly drifting into sleep again.

Tanya took a quick look on the water can. It indicated that it has just passed the third segment of the day. "Much to early," she said.

"Wake me up when it's the fourth segment," mumbled Kitana.

"Why don't we stay in bed today?" asked Tanya.

"I can't," said Kitana, she was half asleep again. She spoke quietly and very slowly as if she was in a trance. "I'm going miss my lessons…"

"It doesn't matter if you miss the lessons once," said Tanya. "If you stay, I'll be very good to you."

But Kitana wasn't listening anymore.

_A few weeks later _

"Hey, can we have a break?" asked Kitana.

Jade slowed down bit by bit until she fully stopped. She turned around and waited until Kitana arrived by her side. Together they went to a drinking well near by where Kitana took a few gulps and splashed some of the cool water into her face. Afterwards they sat down to the ground, next to each other. It was a clear morning, not a single cloud enshrouded the sky. From time to time there was a small breeze of wind, and Kitana wondered to herself if Fujin, the god of wind, was really responsible for every single one of them.

"You're doing pretty good," said Jade. "We've never come that far before."

"And I think I'm starting to regret this," replied Kitana. "How am I supposed to get back?"

"You'll make it," said Jade. For a while, there was an almost unpleasant silence between them, and the princess was glad when Jade spoke again: "Kitana, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," said Kitana.

"What's this thing between you and Tanya?" asked Jade.

"She's my friend," said Kitana. "She has been ever since."

"That's all?" asked Jade.

"That's all," said Kitana. "Why do you ask?"

"Did it never come to your mind that this… wasn't right?" asked Jade. "I mean, isn't there something wrong when two women love another?"

"How could there be something wrong about love?" Kitana threw the question back.

"It's not so much the question if love itself is right or wrong," said Jade. "It's the question how we behave towards such a relationship. Do you think the people of Edenia would accept your relationship? Or would your father accept it in the first place?"

"Stepfather," corrected Kitana.

"Would your stepfather accept this relationship?" Jade repeated her question.

"I don't know," said Kitana. And it was the truth. What would Shao Kahn do if he learned about this whole thing? The relationship between him and Kitana wasn't the best. And it certainly won't become easier. But at the same time Kitana felt a defiance dwelling inside her. Should she deny her true feelings just because it wasn't good for a princess to love a woman?

"Sorry, I didn't want to make you feel uneasy," Jade apologized herself.

"You just want to ruin our friendship because you don't like her!" said Kitana, half kidding.

"Yeah, that's right," said Jade. "I don't like her very much. But that's only fair, she hates me, too."

"Don't be silly, Tanya does not hate you," said Kitana.

"Whatever," said Jade. "But she's always so repulsing." She paused for a while. "I would never have thought that you two would become a couple…"

"She had a hard life," said Kitana. "Her mother died when she gave birth to her, and her father committed Hara Kiri in front of her eyes. I don't know what I would have done if I had to witness the suicide of my mother. And to be honest, I don't want to know…" Pictures of her dead mother returned to Kitana's mind, and she was glad when Jade stood up.

"Come on, let's head back," said Jade. She gave Kitana a hand, and they started to make their way back to the academy.

_2010 A.D. (Presence)_

_Royal Palace_

_Saruga, capital of Edenia_

The mid-day's sun shone through the large crystal glass windows and illuminated the strategy room. Princess Kitana stood in front of a long table with several big maps. Her body was bowed deeply over the map as if she intended to creep into it. At the opposite side of the table stood an old, white-bearded man, dressed in a dark uniform with the crest of a falcon on his back, the crest of Edenia. For a while, both of them seemed to be frozen in their stances like on a portrait. Finally, the old man broke his silence.

"Mylady, if you tell me what is keeping you busy, I might be able to help," he said.

Kitana straightened herself back up and faced the old man. When she looked at him, she sometimes couldn't imagine that his was one of the generals in the Royal Army. The man named Shujinko looked more like a scholar than like a warrior. He had a long white beard; his hair was white, too. He was at the age of something past sixty. For someone originally coming from the Mother Realm, he wasn't exactly young anymore. But he turned out to be a much better warrior than one could have assumed. People really shouldn't be judged only by their appearance.

"Our main concern during the coming battle should be protecting Saruga," said Kitana.

"Most certainly," said Shujinko.

"As far as we know, Shao Kahn is presently in control of two dimensional portals," continued Kitana. "One to the north, near the Cleft Ravine, and one to the south, on the Highlands. He will certainly try to set a trap and attack us from both sides."

"That's right, Mylady," said Shujinko.

"So, we can gain a great advantage if we could block one of the portals and force him to use one of them only."

"That was the same thought I had in mind," said the general. "The only problem is I have no idea how we should do that."

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard steps drawing near. A few moments later a woman appeared in the doorway. Like most of the time, she was dressed in green. In addition, she had wrapped a dark coat around her body, which had the same falcon emblem on its side as Shujinko's uniform. Jade had taken the place as Protector of Queen Sindel after Kitana had freed her from Shao Kahn's grip. Now that the queen was absent, she began to work as Royal Counselor.

"General," said the woman and bowed as a sign of respect.

"Counselor," said Shujinko and bowed as well.

"May I speak to her majesty privately?" she asked. "It will only take a few minutes."

"Of course," answered Shujinko. He bowed once more and left the strategy room.

"You should take a rest," said Jade when they were alone. "How many nights haven't you slept properly now?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment," said Kitana and sighed. "Besides the battle preparations, I have to talk with our new allies, the Shokan, then there are different visitors every day, I have to try my ceremonial dress for my mother's homecoming… and so on."

"All that can wait," said Jade. "For a moment, at least."

"You know the saying, that rest is a luxury, which only the dead can afford, don't you?" asked Kitana.

"Yeah," said Jade. "Those are the words of a hero. The point is, we are no heroes, we are ordinary mortals."

"Fine, I'll take a break as soon as I find the time," said Kitana. "But that wasn't the reason you wanted to see me, was it?"

Jade remained silent for a moment, then she said: "The high-priestess of Shinnok is back."

The news caught Kitana's attention immediately. "Since when?"

"Since several days now."

"Why wasn't I informed about it?" asked Kitana.

"It seems that it was just forgotten," said Jade.

"How can this be?" shouted Kitana. Suddenly she was totally agitated. "The messengers shall inform me about everything in this realm. How can they forget something this important?"

"Calm down," said Jade. "She hasn't killed anyone, at least not until now."

"That's not funny," said Kitana.

"Of course not, Mylady," said Jade formally. "Excuse me. What shall we do? Do you wish to send a troop to arrest her?"

"No," said Kitana. "I want to talk to her personally."

"Now that's what I call a bad idea," said Jade. "She's wanted and accused for high treason. If your mother finds out, Tanya will most likely be beheaded."

"I'm not my mother!" screamed Kitana.

"You still have feelings for her, don't you?" asked Jade. "How can you still love her after all she has done to you? To us all?"

"I don't love her anymore," said Kitana calmly. "But I don't hate her. How can I ever hate someone who once saved my life?"

"That was long ago. She's no more the one she was back then," replied Jade. "Now she would kill you without hesitation. Why are you hurting yourself?"

Kitana didn't answer her. "Please, don't tell anyone about this," she said instead. "At least of all General Shujinko. If he knew, he would inform my mother immediately."

Jade hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded. As she was about to leave the room, Kitana called her back.

"How can we today condemn the ones we loved yesterday, just because the ideologies have changed overnight?" asked Kitana.

"I don't know, Mylady," said Jade before she continued her way.

Several segments later the princess arrived at the house, which Tanya had inherited from her father. Kitana was wrapped in a long coat and her face was covered with a veil so that she wouldn't be recognized so easily. As she stood in front of the door, she was overwhelmed by memories of the time they shared together. Who would have thought back then that their relationship would last over two thousand years?

The princess knocked at the door, and after some seconds Tanya opened. Not much has changed since the last time they met. Tanya still used to wear yellow clothes most of the time. She had a new hairstyle, and her dark eyes have turned all white now, something that had resulted from her encounter with Shinnok, the god of darkness.

"O, it's you," she said. She seemed to be completely unimpressed to see the princess.

"May I enter?" asked Kitana.

"Suit yourself," said Tanya.

Kitana stepped into the house, and while Tanya closed the door, she took off her veil.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"This is my house," replied Tanya.

"But why?" asked Kitana.

"Why this is my house? Have you now come all the way to this place just to ask philosophical questions?" said Tanya with a sarcastic smile in face.

"Why have you come back after betraying your own home realm?"

"I don't have to tell you," replied Tanya. "But if you insist on an answer, I'm here to see a friend," before Kitana could say something, she continued: "Yes, I still have friends here. But you are not one of them. And if you neither intend to arrest nor to kill me now, I would appreciate it if you leave me alone now." She reopened the door, and after Kitana left without further words, she closed it with a slam.

While Kitana was on her way back, her mind was occupied by one thought: She asked herself if the friend Tanya came for was responsible for blocking the message of her arrival.


	8. Chapter 7: Hearts of Stone

_A.N.: Hi, everyone! Sorry for letting you wait for so long, but I've been quite busy these days. Anyways, here is the next chapter. IMO it's the most emotional, but also the cruelest chapter so far. Now, have fun, and leave a review if you feel like doing so._

_BTW, maybe I should explain a few things:_

_1. Dinari is the currency of Edenia_

_2. One segment of the day equals two hours_

_NEM3SIS_

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**CHAPTER 7: HEARTS OF STONE **

_Two weeks earlier_

_Black Tower_

_Outworld_

"Why am I doing this?" thought Tanya as she walked through the long hallway of Shao Kahn's palace.

Actually the term "Shao Kahn's palace" wasn't completely right. He had just overtaken it after killing the formal emperor Onaga. And so had Onaga taken it away from his predecessor. The Black Tower was built in the middle of the Wastelands. The first emperor of Outworld ordered the greatest architects of his time to create the building. It was supposed to show the power of Outworld, that no emperor of that realm would ever submit to any rules, and that they would even defy the Elder Gods, if necessary.

Somehow Tanya understood the reason for their behavior. From very early on she had learned that it was better to be strong than to be weak, and that it was better to rule than to be ruled.

Although Tanya was born in Edenia, her parents were not original Edenian. After her father, Lord Feron, was named for the post as Ambassador of New Realms in Edenia, he left his home together with his wife Lady Laetitia. They moved to Edenia and started a new life. A few years later Laetitia became pregnant. The doctors predicted a girl. Now that their daughter was on her way, they had achieved everything: they were respected among the people of Edenia, they had a good relationship to the rulers of Edenia, King Jarred and Queen Sindel, and they were having a happy family life. Things could just go on like this forever, but they didn't.

When Tanya was about to be born, the doctors predicted that there won't be any complications, the child was in a healthy condition, and so was Lady Laetitia. They expected a quick procedure. But things changed almost from one second to the other. The child was lying in the wrong direction. For some time the doctors were afraid that both, mother and daughter would die. After many straining hours, the doctors managed to save the child. But unfortunately, Laetitia deceased from exhaustion.

All this Tanya knew because her father had told her the story of her birth over and over again. He told her about the last moments of Laetitia's life, when she looked at her daughter with the expression of the happiest woman in all realms, before she just slept away. Feron said that it was the will of the Elder Gods. They must have had their reasons to call Laetitia away. But Tanya pulled her own conclusion from the story.

For Tanya it was clear that the world was a place that only accepted the strong. The strong ones always survive, while the weaker ones would sooner or later disappear. She did not want to show disrespect towards her parents. But in her opinion Laetitia would have survived if she only had been stronger. And wasn't also her father's death a result of his own weakness?

But nonetheless Tanya never looked up to Shao Kahn. He was strong; there was no doubt about that. But he tried to gain more and more power for only one reason: He was overwhelmed by his lust for power. He was addicted, and addiction was a sign of weakness. He was so obsessed that he was willing to sacrifice the members of his own family. And that was why Tanya had long ago sworn to herself never to serve him again.

And yet, there she was, standing in front of the large doors to the throne room. She wasn't able to keep her promise. Everyone had a weak point, and that was hers.

"Why am I doing this?" she asked herself again before stepping through the large door leading to the throne room.

_7361 B.C._

_Saruga_

_Free Realm of Edenia_

It should have been a great day.

Actually, it began as a great day. The sun was shining, it was warm, and it was the beginning of a whole week she and Kitana planned to spend together. Shao Kahn had allowed Kitana to take a few days vacation. She wanted to visit some friends, she had told him. Of course she hadn't said the truth. The relationship between the princess and Tanya was a secret they had hidden well since more than six centuries now. And Shao Kahn believed all of Kitana's explanations when she disappeared and returned a few days later.

Now they had seven days after Kitana returned from her latest mission. That was a lot of time for themselves, and of course, for "collisions". That thought made Tanya smile unwillingly. "Collision" was the word Tanya had invented for the thing they… did. Kitana had found the word inappropriate, as if making love was some kind of accident, like a collision between two carriages. But the reason why Tanya had chosen the word was the fact that Kitana possessed an unbelievable amount of energy. One would never have expected it when seeing her. Sometimes the most inconspicuous people turned out to be the strongest in certain situations.

But as no one could live from love only, Tanya wanted to show some of her cooking skills, which had developed a lot since the days when she was still young and cooked for her father now and then. And therefore she was now on the daily market to buy some fresh vegetables, fruits and also meat.

She came across a water tank with living eels in them. Tanya decided spontaneously to buy one. The vendor was a corpulent woman chatting with another seller.

"How much is the eel?" asked Tanya.

The two vendors interrupted their conversation. "Six Dinari for one," she answered and added immediately: "That's not expensive. You'll have to pay up to eight Dinari elsewhere."

"Yeah, I'll take one," said Tanya.

"Should I kill it for you, or do you want to do it yourself?"

"No, you go ahead," answered Tanya.

The woman opened the tank, grabbed one of the animals with her bare hands, pulled it out and chopped its head off in less than five seconds. And while she began to wrap the fish with paper, she continued her conversation with the other woman. Although Tanya didn't intend to, she caught up their words.

"Is that true?" asked the vendor. "Such a poor thing, she's still so young!"

"Yes," said the other woman. She turned out to have less compassion than her college. "But those are the rules of the emperor. No one shall turn against him. Anyone who does loses his head. It's that simple."

"But still…" said the woman. She had finished packing the fish and handed it to Tanya.

"Another execution?" asked Tanya as she took the fish. She was just unimpressed to the news as the other woman. Surely it was tragic if someone was condemned to death. But on the other hand, they must have done something to deserve the penalty.

"Yes," said the woman. "But you won't believe this, it's the emperor's own daughter…"

The shock hit Tanya like Shao Kahn's war-hammer on her head. "Which daughter?" was the only thing she could say.

"Have you been living under a rock or something?" asked the woman. "Shao Kahn has only one daughter!"

Tanya suddenly felt very sick; the world was spinning around her head. This was impossible, almost ridiculous. Shao Kahn has sentenced his daughter to death? Kitana? Why the hell would he do that? It must have been a joke, a very bad joke.

"This can't be…"

"I know it's unbelievable," said the other woman. "But I've seen it with my own eyes. She was led through the streets by the imperial guards. And she was bound like a criminal."

Tanya suddenly awoke from her lethargy. Perhaps it was some mistake. She had to do something, she couldn't just let her friend die; she had to save her. Tanya dropped the packed fish and began to run.

"Hey, you have to pay the fish, I can't resell it!" the vendor shouted behind her, but Tanya was already gone.

There was nothing unusual when Tanya arrived at the palace. The servants carried on their work as if nothing happened. The whole scenery was so bizarre to Tanya that she almost believed it all was but a bad dream. But her foolish hope was destroyed when she came across one of the army captains patrolling in front of the throne room. He was a rather good-looking man at her age. His short hair was perfectly black, just like the hair of all Edenian people. His face was decorated with a tattoo, making him look like he was wearing a mask. He was clothed in the uniform of the Outworld army, which was held in the colors dark red and black.

Captain Reiko was one of the most mysterious men of Shao Kahn's staff. Some centuries back he appeared almost out of nowhere. No one knew his true identity. There were a lot of rumors about his origin. According to one of them he was supposed to be the same person as Shao Kahn. But Tanya wondered how anyone could come up with such ridiculous speculations. Haven't they ever seen Shao Kahn standing in one room with his most trusted captain?

"You have heard about it?" he asked. His voice was surprisingly deep.

"So it's true?" Tanya asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"When is the execution?"

"Three days from now, at mid-day," answered Reiko. "You know her since you were small, don't you?"

"What's it to you?" asked Tanya.

"I know it's always hard to lose a friend, and even harder to lose a loved one."

"She's not dead yet!" screamed Tanya. "So don't talk like that ever again!"

"But she will be soon," replied Reiko indifferently. "There's nothing you can do about it…"

Tanya saw that there was no point in discussing the matter any further. She ran passed him.

"What are you doing?" asked Reiko.

"I must talk to Shao Kahn!"

"You can't. He's busy now," said Reiko.

"Then he will have to take his time for me," replied Tanya and went through the door.

Shao Kahn was talking with two Edenian aristocrats in his throne room. They immediately fell silent when Tanya entered. Just as one of the emperor wanted to say something, Reiko rushed in after Tanya.

"I'm sorry, Mylord," he said. "I wasn't able to stop her."

Shao Kahn nodded. Then he turned to his ministers. "We'll continue our conversation later." The ministers bowed and left the room with Reiko. After the door closed, Tanya stepped up to Shao Kahn's high seat and fell on her knees. She kept her eyes to the floor, avoiding looking into his face.

"Now then," said Shao Kahn. "What can I do for you?"

"Tell me why, Mylord," said Tanya, still starring to the floor.

"Why what?" asked Shao Kahn.

"Why did you sentence Kitana to death?"

"Ah, that matter!" said Shao Kahn. "I sent her on a mission with a troop. But when they came back, I was told that she not only refused my order, but also attacked one of my men and injured him severely. This is a crime not only against me, but also against the whole realm. Kitana knows that."

"She must have had her reasons," Tanya tried to explain. "She would never commit such an act under normal circumstances…"

"Of course she had her reasons," replied Shao Kahn. "All criminals have their reasons for acting against the law at the moment of their action. But that does not justify their deeds!"

"But she's your daughter," said Tanya. Her voice was trembling now. "Don't you have compassion with her?"

"This is of no importance!" said Shao Kahn. His voice grew harder. "Kitana vowed to serve me and follow my orders without exception when she entered the army. She knows the consequences for actions like hers. She is treated like anyone else too under these circumstances, no more and no less."

Tanya felt defeated inside. Something broke inside of her. All her hopes vanished. She stood up and turned to leave the room. At that moment Shao Kahn said something that hurt Tanya more than anything else:

"You'll get over it."

"I love her more than anything else in the world," replied Tanya hardly audible. "So with all due respect, don't say I would get over it."

It took a while until Shao Kahn fully understood the meaning of what she just said. "I see. I wished I could say something else."

Tanya nodded. "I wished so, too."

When Tanya arrived in the hallway in front of the throne room she felt so weak that she dropped herself to the floor, where she leaned against the wall and remained silent and motionless. Reiko, who was still patrolling there, walked up to her and scrutinized her swiftly.

"It didn't work, huh?"

Tanya shook her head. "Not a single bit."

"You should take some rest, come on," said Reiko and bowed down to help her up. But she pushed him away.

"Leave me alone…"

"You can't stay here," said Reiko.

"Why not?" asked Tanya. "Am I disturbing you? Or anyone else?"

"No, but…"

"Then just to leave me alone, please!"

Reiko nodded and continued his patrols. He thought that she would sooner or later stand up and leave; but she didn't. She just sat there, frozen to a statue. At noon he had a meal brought for her, but she wouldn't even touch it. She still sat there at night, when Shao Kahn left his throne room. And when Reiko came back the next morning, she was still there. Next to her were two plates with food and some beverage, completely untouched. Things went on like that the next days, meals were brought to her and removed again.

She must have fallen asleep at last. She flinched when someone shook her. She opened her eyes and saw Reiko sitting opposite of her.

"What time is it?" she asked. Her voice was no more than a whisper.

"Almost mid-day, third day," said Reiko.

"So this is the end?"

Reiko did not answer. "His majesty wants to see you," he said instead.

"But I don't want to see him," replied Tanya. "Why should I?"

"Don't say that, you should go to him," said Reiko. He pulled Tanya up. Due to hunger, thirst and sitting for three days, she almost immediately collapsed again. But with Reiko's support she was able to slowly walk to Shao Kahn's throne room. As usual he was sitting in his richly decorated seat. Reiko and Tanya walked up to the throne, where she fell to the floor again.

"You can leave now," Shao Kahn said to his captain. He bowed and continued his daily duties. For some minutes Shao Kahn remained silent. Just as Tanya began to think that he had called her simply to see her suffer, he began to speak:

"Many people think of me as cold-hearted," he said. "I guess that's the way it is when you're emperor of a huge realm and king of another. There will always be the ones who agree with you and the ones who are against you. So, what should I do? Should I let them all do what they like? No, I shouldn't. I am the emperor. My task is to hold his realm together, to unite the people living in it. And I can't accept anyone who revolts against this ideal. Do you understand that?"

Tanya nodded.

"But you should know that I'm not cold-hearted," Shao Kahn continued. "And you should know that I do have compassion with Kitana. I didn't want it to end this way. It's just that crimes must be atoned. And now even my most loyal captain begged to give her a second chance. I don't know why I agreed, but I did. Of course there's one condition. You have to complete a mission for me."

Tanya felt so delighted that she gathered all her strength, stood up and bowed before him. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

"I haven't told you yet what the latest mission of Kitana was," said Shao Kahn. "So let me catch up on that. Southeast of here is a small commune. Since several months they were in delay with their contributions. I sent messengers many time, but every time they returned with the same excuse of their Elder. I believe they simply refuse to pay. So I sent a troop there to urge him. And you know, what happened next."

"So, what shall I do?"

"You will get the contribution for me," Shao Kahn answered. "I give you twelve segments for this task. If you return by the time of mid-day tomorrow, she will be freed, and her actions will be forgiven."

"And if not?"

"Then she will die," replied Shao Kahn. "As I said, crimes must be atoned."

"What should I do if the Elder refuses to pay again, just like before?" asked Tanya.

"Teach him a lesson," said Shao Kahn. "Show him that no shall defy Shao Kahn."

Tanya suddenly realized that she got a raw deal. She likely had to use more than words against that person, something that she didn't want to do at all, but she had no choice than to accept. She bowed once more and said: "I won't disappoint you, Mylord." Before she left the room, she turned around and asked: "May I see the princess before I leave?"

"Of course," said Shao Kahn. "But don't stay too long, you don't have much time."

"Where is that commune Shao Kahn sent his troops lately?" she asked Reiko when she saw him on her way through the palace.

"It's quite far away," said Reiko. "You'll need almost five segments for one way"

Once more Tanya realized that it wouldn't be easy. "Give me the strongest horse you have, and a description how to get there. There's only one thing left before I go."

"What?" asked Reiko.

"See the princess," replied Tanya.

"I don't recommend that."

"And why not?"

"You might not like what you see," said Reiko.

It was a shock for her to see Kitana again. Never had she thought to be possible that a person could change so much in a few days. No longer was Kitana the graceful princess in her memories. She was sitting in a corner of her cell; her beautiful clothes had been replaced by an ugly gray dress of some rough material. She was bare-footed. Her long black hair Tanya liked to touch so much was cut to the length of her chin, her face looked pale. She bled from the corner of her mouth as if she was beaten.

But the thing that really broke Tanya's heart was to see her restrained. A chain was connected between her ankles, and a heavy wooden stock was put around her neck, her wrists tied to the ends of it. When she saw Tanya, she tried to stand up, but the weight of the stock almost made it impossible. A picture rose in Tanya's mind: the picture of a bird in a cage with both wings broken.

"What have they done to you?" asked Tanya and walked up to the bars of the cell.

Kitana tried to smile. She made a second attempt to stand up, and this time, she succeeded. Slowly, with small and careful steps she walked to the bars from the other side. "It looks worse than it is," she said.

"How can you say that?" asked Tanya. She reached through the bars to touch her cheeks. "You look horrible."

"I guess so," answered Kitana. "But hey, you've already been looking better, too."

Tanya suddenly found herself smiling, too. "Yeah, the last few days were a total mess."

"I thought I would never see you again," said Kitana. "But suddenly the emperor came and informed me that my execution has been postponed. And now even you are here. My last wish has been fulfilled. Now I can leave this world without grieve." Then suddenly her eyes filled up with tears. "Damn it! I'm still trying to act tough, but I'm scared; I don't want to die…"

Tanya put her forefinger on Kitana's lips. "It's okay to be afraid, that's only human. I don't want to have a girlfriend who's never afraid of anything." she whispered. And after a while she added: "And you know what? You won't die, not before you have become great-grandmother with four children, twelve grandchildren and twenty-four great-grandchildren."

Kitana had to laugh about that thought. "That's a nice dream, but I'm afraid it will stay a dream."

"No, it can come true," said Tanya.

"And where are we supposed to get four children from?" asked Kitana.

"I guess we'll just have to adopt them… Hey!" said Tanya suddenly. "Tell me what happened."

"Don't you already know?" asked Kitana surprised. "Well, okay, Shao Kahn had sent us to this commune. We should just go there and remind this Elder to pay the contributions and come back. But when we arrived, the leader of our troop suddenly went mad. He threatened the Elder to burn the houses of the commune down. And then, he grabbed his wife and… and… started to do very bad things to her, and when she tried to defend herself, he beat and kicked her…" Kitana's eyes filled with tears again, and Tanya began to feel sick in her stomach "Anyways, I couldn't just stand there and watch, so I attacked him with my weapons. You know the rest. Fortunately the woman wasn't harmed seriously. So even if I must die now, at least I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"You won't die," repeated Tanya "I won't let it happen. Just hold on." She softly wiped away the tears from Kitana's face. Then she turned around and moved back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" asked Kitana.

"I'll be back," said Tanya. "But there's something I have to do."

"No, stay here, please, I beg you! Don't leave me alone now!"

Tanya heard Kitana crying behind her. Nonetheless she continued her way back up the stairs without looking back one more time. She had to go. A long way lay in front of her. There was no time to waste.

But the true reason of her quick depart was something else.

Tanya was crying, too.

Reiko was already awaiting her outside the palace, when Tanya came back up from the prison area.

"I told you you wouldn't like what you see," said Reiko when he saw her reddened eyes.

"Mind your own business," replied Tanya and cleared her throat. "Where's the horse?"

"Don't panic!" said Reiko and whistled on two fingers. He was answered immediately by a whinny and hoof steps drawing near. Soon a black horse appeared on the horizon. It appeared to be very fast, within a few moments it arrived at the spot where they stood. It looked strong and beautiful, its fur was shining in the mid-day's sun.

"His name is Nightshade," explained Reiko. "He has already taken me to many places. He will take you anywhere you like in any time you like. You don't have to use force on him at all."

Tanya jumped up. "Well, I'm ready to leave."

"Hey! Not so fast," said Reiko. He handed her a folded piece of paper and a pretty heavy bundle wrapped in thick cloths.

"Okay, I assume this paper is a map. But what's this heavy stuff?" asked Tanya.

"Kobus," answered Reiko. "I found them in our weapon chamber. I think they would suit you well."

"O hell!" exclaimed Tanya. "My last weapon training was, let me think, half a millennium back. And I don't like pulling weapons for every small thing."

"Take them anyway, they might come in handy."

"Wouldn't it be nice if there was peace everywhere and no weapons were necessary?" asked Tanya.

"Yeah sure," said Reiko. "But even peace is something you have to fight for."

"Reiko, thanks for you help in front of Shao Kahn."

"You're always welcome," he replied. "Just make sure my help wasn't in vain."

Nightshade started moving, and Reiko followed them with his eyes until they disappeared behind the horizon.

The landscape flew passed her, and the wind blew through her hair. How much time has passed since her journey began? She didn't know, and she didn't want to know. Thinking about time reminded her that Kitana's life lay in her hands, and she quickly chased the thoughts away.

Without stopping and at high speed she rode through the scenery of Edenia. By the time the sun descended and the stars appeared on a clear nightly sky, she arrived at her destiny. In front of her lay a settlement of several small houses. Tanya jumped off her horse and continued her way by foot. Soon she stepped onto a free area in between the houses. All doors and windows were shut; it was almost like she has entered a ghost town.

A door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped out. "Who are you? And what do you want?" he asked. There was clearly distrust in his voice.

"Greetings," she said. She tried to be as friendly as possible; she even managed to show a little smile. "My name is Tanya, I am an ambassador from his majesty, Shao Kahn. I'm looking for the Elder of this commune."

"That's me," said the man. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to remind you to pay the contributions."

"I'm sorry, Ambassador Tanya, but I've already told his commander the other day, we can't pay the contributions. We need the money for ourselves. And tell Shao Kahn that even if we could, we would never pay him any contributions! Now I would appreciate if you leave."

Tanya was surprised by so much outrageousness. Maybe it was because he got away the other day, or maybe it was because he didn't take her seriously. But although she began to feel repulsed by the man, she remained calm.

"Do you really want me to leave and inform his majesty about your words?" she asked. "Do you know what will happen then? He will send more troops, and the next time, there will be no one to help you…"

"We can very well take care of ourselves," said the man. "We've managed to do so the past years. And now leave!"

"What if I refused to leave?" asked Tanya.

In the meantime, all the other inhabitants have come out of their houses, attracted by the argument between Tanya and the Elder. In a few minutes they had all gathered on that area. The women waited near their doors, some had children with them. The men closed in Tanya, there were at least twenty of them. Many of them were armed with sickles, long staffs and torches.

"We are many, and you are alone," said the Elder. "If you don't go, we'll force you to."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Tanya. "All these guys against one girl? Have you ever heard of fair-play?"

"We would do anything to protect ourselves and our families," said the man.

"I thought you were a reasonable person," said Tanya and pulled out the Kobus. She had tried her best to find a peaceful solution. But finally she had lost her patience. Why in the world had Kitana risked her life to protect those people? "But if you want it the hard way, you'll have to… find me!"

At that moment she revealed one of her special abilities, which she had developed long ago: She hid herself from any human eye simply by concentrating her mental power.

"What the hell?" exclaimed one of the inhabitants. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know," said the Elder. "Stay on guard, she might be trying to pull some dirty tricks off…"

In that very instance a short scream broke the silence. A young man broke down with a deep cut on his throat.

"She's still here!" screamed the Elder. "Find that bitch and kill her if necessary!"

What he had to witness in the next few minutes was the most frightening and disturbing thing he had ever seen in his entire life: One by one the townspeople fell to the floor, with deadly wounds on their throat and stomach. The townspeople desperately tried to detect the attacker's position. But their attempts were all in vain. It was as if the invisible grim reaper went through the crowd. The air was filled with screams, the women tried to run away with their kids in panic. But no one could escape Tanya's wrath. In a few minutes, she had almost killed every single person in that commune. The Elder was the only one she had spared. The ground was red from blood. Bodies were scattered all over the place.

She turned visible again. "Now tell me!" she shouted. "Is this what you wanted?"

The Elder fell on his knees, he trembled terribly. "What… what have you done?"

"What have I done?" screamed Tanya furiously. "This is the result of you action! I just asked you to pay your contributions. I was friendly to you, wasn't I? All would have been so easy if you just had just complied! But you decided play the tough guy instead, "

"Oh my god!" the Elder whimpered and took the body of a woman in his arms. It was almost irony, she was saved from the assaults of an Outworld Lieutenant, and just a few days later, she was dead.

"Now come on," said Tanya and helped him up. "Be a man! Just give me the contribution, and I will leave."

"I… in m… my house, o… on one of the shelves" he said. His voice was trembling so hard that Tanya had difficulties understanding him. "I… it's not much, but that's all we have… O my god!"

Tanya left him alone and entered his home. The Elder had said the truth. After a short time she found a small bag with platinum coins. She took it and returned outside. There she discovered that the Elder had committed Hara Kiri by slitting his own throat with a sickle, the sad end for the defiance against the tyranny of Shao Kahn.

Thanks to Nightshade's speed and stamina Tanya arrived back at the palace half a segment before mid-day. But the palace seemed to be complete deserted. Everyone was gone. When Tanya came pass Shao Kahn's private chamber, she saw Reiko standing in front of a shelf. It was the place where Shao Kahn kept his helmets. Tanya didn't know it, but the emperor didn't have only one, but ten of those helmets. All looked the same, all were connected with a skull-shaped mask, and they were all neatly lined up in a row.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Tanya asked.

Reiko jumped as he heard her voice. He must have been so concentrated, that he didn't notice her.

"Oh, you're back," he said. "I would say, just on time. The others just left for the town square."

"To do what?" asked Tanya. But she already knew the answer. "All of them?"

"Yep," said Reiko. "They don't get to see a princess losing her head everyday."

Tanya suddenly found his indifferent behavior repulsive, but replied nothing to it. "And how come you're not with them?" she asked instead.

"I get sick when I see blood," said Reiko.

Although she knew she would most likely get another stupid answer, she decided to ask him one last question: "By the way, what are you doing there?"

What she received was the strangest thing she had ever heard from Reiko: "I'm optimizing the effect of the arrangement of his majesty's helmets."

"But… the helmets are all the same," said Tanya.

Reiko turned around to her and asked: "Didn't you want to save someone's life?"

"Yeah, right!" said Tanya and ran off.

When Tanya arrived at the town square, the place was already filled with people. Most disturbing to her, they were neither sad nor shocked, but joked around and cheered. It seemed that they took this whole thing as some kind of perverted amusement.

It was no different with Shao Kahn. He was sitting in a raised balcony, accompanied by his two favorite concubines. Tanya raced up the stairs and entered the balcony. When Shao Kahn saw her, he stared at her speechlessly with a cold gaze. Just then Tanya suddenly realized that Shao Kahn had not expected her to accomplish her mission in the first place. Most certainly he even had wished that she failed. And with Kitana dead, there was no one left who was able to eventually repel him from his throne.

Tanya threw a bundle of cloth to his feet. It bumped with a dull sound on the floor. "He wasn't cooperative," she said quietly. "So I taught him a lesson."

One of his concubines picked it up and took a curious look at its content. Immediately she screeched and dropped it again.

"What?" Tanya asked her. "I thought you would find it amusing to see someone get his head cut off!" The concubine shook head in panic.

Slowly Shao Kahn stood up and raised his voice. "I, Shao Kahn, rightful king of Edenia, declare that Kitana's crime has been atoned. Her execution by decapitation is hereby cancelled. The princess is to be brought back to the palace! This is my order!" He sat back down and continued: "You should know that I always keep my word, Tanya."

But she was already gone.

Tanya walked aimlessly through the streets of Edenia when an attack of dizziness reminded her that she hadn't eaten anything since four days now. So she entered the next tavern she came across. It didn't take long until a waiter came along.

"Greetings!" said the young man. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, what can you recommend?"

"Of course we recommend everything on our card," said the young man.

"Okay, first of all, bring me pancakes, I die for pancakes," said Tanya after having taken a short look on the card. "Then I want to have the duck tongues, the chicken claws in mustard sauce, the deer filets, the beef with two different sauces, the rabbit embedded in cherry flowers…"

"Um, excuse me, Ma'am," interrupted the waiter.

"Yes?"

"Those dishes are pretty expensive," said the waiter. "I mean, think about it: how many ducks we need for the duck tongues…"

Tanya sighed and took out the small bag with the platinum coins onto the table. "Would that be enough?"

The waiter nodded. "Yes, of course. That's more than enough. Please, order whatever you desire."

"Fine, then I'll have the pork in sugar-vinegar-sauce, the fried quails, the sheep liver… um, how many dishes are those?"

"Eight, ma'am."

"Okay, that would be enough meat," said Tanya "Just bring some more vegetables."

"What kind of vegetables?"

"I'll leave that free for you to choose," said Tanya.

"Of course," said the waiter.

"For desert I'd like to have mango, strawberries peaches and persimmons. And… I need wine, bring me one pound for the time being, but not the cheap stuff."

"As you wish."

And then finally, after four day of fasting, the feast began for Tanya. Never before had the waiters and cooks seen a girl eating that much at once. But she also could drink quite a lot. Soon she had ordered her third pound of wine. Suddenly another young woman appeared in the tavern. And it was someone who Tanya wished she didn't see.

"May I join you?" asked Jade.

"Would you go away if I said no?" Tanya asked back.

Jade ignored that comment and sat down. "A lot of things happened the past days, huh?"

Tanya didn't answer. Instead she took a pancake, ripped it in two parts and stuffed one half into her mouth, chewed on it vulgarly and swallowed it down.

"But hey, you made it," said Jade "You have saved Kitana's life."

Tanya stuffed the other half of the pancake into her mouth and rinsed it with a gulp of wine.

"I know you had to make some difficult decisions," Jade continued. "and I understand if you need your rest. So, if you ever feel like talking to someone…"

Tanya emptied her mouth and broke her silence. "Are you done?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"It wasn't your girlfriend who wasn't sentenced to death, it wasn't you who tried to save her life, who got into an assault of some villagers, who had completely lost their minds. So stop being hypocritical and say you would understand me, because you don't know anything!"

Jade nodded. "I'm sorry," she said and stood up. "Kitana is also my friend, you know?" she asked and left the tavern

"Waiter, I need more wine!" shouted Tanya and continued her meal.

It was early afternoon when Tanya returned at the palace. Two female servants were preparing a bath for Kitana in her private bathroom. One servant poured water into a big tub, while another helped her to undress.

"You may leave now," said Tanya. "I'll do the rest."

"But Lady Tanya, this is no work for you," said one of the servants.

"It is fine," said Tanya. "Really."

The two servants bowed swiftly, they went away and left Kitana and Tanya alone.

Tanya took off her gloves and helped the princess into the tub and began softly to wash her body. Her neck, wrists and ankles were wounded by the restraints she was forced to wear. Yet she wouldn't make the slightest sound when Tanya touched the sore parts. During all the time, none of them spoke a word. Simply being near to each other was enough.

After the bath Tanya wrapped the princess into some sheets, lifted her up and carried her to her bed, just like a bridegroom would carry his bride on their wedding day. Then Tanya carefully put some ointment on Kitanas wounds. When she finished, she discovered that Kitana had fallen asleep. Tanya softly covered her body with a blanket, kissed her on her forehead, took a chair and sat down by her side.

It was the first time for Tanya, too, that she could find rest. As she sat there, in the silent room, she began to reflect on the events of the past days, especially on her encounter with the Elder. Suddenly a thought came up in her mind. And of all things, it were the words of Shao Kahn, which had brought her to that thought:

_There will always be the ones who agree with you and the ones who are against you._

It happened that the Elder was against her. But didn't he have the very same intentions like her? Tanya tried to save Kitana from dying, and the Elder tried to protect his commune. Weren't these basically the same goals? However, their intentions collided, just because they stood on different positions.

And then Tanya realized one more thing: that it was desperation that made people's heart turn to stone. Desperation turned the townspeople into a mob, and desperation made her do something she never wanted to do. She had refused to carry weapons so far, and now she had killed not only one human being, she had erased a whole commune.

She suddenly felt tears coming, and couldn't hold them back anymore. She cried silently, she wasn't able to control herself, the tears kept coming and coming, until she fell asleep, sitting on the chair, with her head resting on the bed at Kitana's side.

Presence 

Tanya walked up to Shao Kahn's throne and knelt down. The throne was cut out of one huge piece of black marble, a seat worthy to an emperor. Shao Kahn sat there quite leisurely. He was dressed completely in black, his coat, his pants, his boots were all black. Even his helmet looked darker.

"Mylord, you called for me?" she said.

"Tanya, you have always been like a daughter to me," said Shao Kahn. "While others turned against me, you never did. I know I can always trust on you."

"Your words honor me, Mylord," said Tanya. "But why don't you tell me openly what's on your mind?"

"Well, some time back my daughter Mileena was defeated and thrown into the dungeon by Kitana. I want you to free her and bring her back."

"Mylord, I certainly will be able to accomplish the mission," said Tanya. "But I need time for preparations."

"You will get all the time you need" said Shao Kahn. "Just make sure to bring Mileena back."

Tanya bowed again and left the throne room. It happened so that she had a friend in the rows of the Royal Guards of Edenia. He would certainly be able to help her to get into the Free Realm of Edenia undetected.

A smile appeared on her face. The time for payback has finally come.


	9. Chapter 8: Strange Land

**CHAPTER 8: STRANGE LAND **

Shujinko was sitting by his table and read in an old book. He enjoyed the silence of the night. While he had many tasks to fulfill and many things to do at daytime, he had the nights for himself. Mostly he spent his time reading books of ancient Chinese philosophers, and sometimes he went out for a walk in the garden behind the palace. As for now he was reading a book written by the Chinese Scholar known as Zhuang Zi. Shujinko's copy of it was already old; the pages had turned yellow by the time and some of them were loose.

He still could clearly remember when his father gave it to him. He still has been a pupil back then. The first time he read it he couldn't understand a single word. But still he was so fascinated that he tried again and again, and with each time he reread the book his interest and fascination grew. He liked the idea of having trust into the way of nature and not acting against it. Through the years, he learned to put his heart at ease, but to be resistant nonetheless. To trust nature absolutely did not mean to give up one self. In contrary, the ones who were not determined were not be able to trust anything, or anyone.

Shujinko had an exciting and adventurous life. His big journey began when he was sixteen, and it still has not come to an end at the present day. He was still on the search for the last one of the six artifacts created by the Elder Gods. Those artifacts were known as Kamidogu, and each one of them was said to be hidden in every realm.

When he looked back to the beginning of his journey, he had to admit that he had been kind of naïve. When the spiritual creature Damashi gave him the choice either to accept the task or to deny it, he complied without hesitation. For example, he never thought about the duration of the quest. How long would it take to find six artifacts? One month? One year? Ten years? Who cared? Time was of no importance as long as one was young.

Furthermore he had to bring some sacrifices during his quest, a fact that had diminished a lot the enthusiasm he once had: He was never able to compete in a Mortal Kombat – Tournament, which was his biggest wish when he was young. An even greater sacrifice was his time in prison. While his abidance in Seido, the Realm of Order, he was arrested out of no obvious reason and condemned to ten years prison sentence, for a crime he has not fully understood, even until the very day. He felt mistreated, and a dark germ of hatred towards the people of Seido grew within his heart. Although he knew that most of the Seidan were men and women just like anyone else, he couldn't overcome his feelings, and he swore to himself that he would never set a foot on that realm again.

The silence of the night was suddenly interrupted by a big commotion outside his chamber. Steps of heavy boots came running along the hallway. Shujinko closed his book and stepped out to the hallway. There he saw a dozen guardsmen running dawn the hall. They all seemed to be in a great rush. Shujinko managed to stop one of the soldiers.

"What's the matter?" asked Shujinko.

When the soldier recognized Shujinko, he knelt down before him, but Shujinko pulled him up by his arms. "What the hell happened?" he repeated his question.

"One of the prisoners broke out of the dungeon, Sir!" answered the soldier.

"Who?" he asked. "Who is the prisoner?"

"It's Mileena, the clone of her majesty, the princess," said the soldier. "Sir, may I leave? I was called to guard the palace gates."

Shujinko, who seemed to be sunken into some thoughts, nodded as if he was in trance. "Sure, you may leave."

The soldier ran after his companions, while Shujinko remained standing where he was and musing. If the prisoner named Mileena wasn't completely stupid, she would most certainly avoid the gates. And Shujinko knew her; he knew her cleverness and that she was not to be underestimated.

He rushed back into his room and opened the window. His chamber was situated in the third floor of the tower. But during his training he mastered the skill of making his body airy. Without hesitation he climbed out of the window and floated slowly to the ground.

_1975 A.D._

_Walled City of Lei Chen_

_Outworld_

The quest has been like a walk in the park so far. Without any greater effort, he received the Kamidogu of Earth Realm, Netherrealm and Chaos Realm. If things went on like that, he would be able to finish his quest soon and participate in the next Mortal Kombat, just as he intended before he started his journey. But things have completely changed since he arrived in Outworld; now he was really clueless about what to do. No one, absolutely no one seemed to know anything about what he was looking for.

He was regaining hope when one day he coincidentally heard about a big library. It was supposed to be the largest archive in Outworld and situated in Lei Chen, which was also called the Walled City of Outworld. Shujinko instinctively felt that this was the place where he should continue his search.

And so he wandered for fully two days until he reached the big city. And what he saw surprised him so much that he didn't want to trust his eyes at first. As far as he could see in the past few days was that Outworld was suffering from a great poverty. Everywhere he passed he saw beggars and people who weren't able to earn enough to buy food, no matter how hard they worked.

Lei Chen was completely different. The city seemed to spill over from riches. The people on the streets wore clothes made of expensive silk, all women and even men possessed jewelries. The buildings were ornamented with gold and ivory. And the library was no different; it resembled more to a palace than to an archive.

Shujinko entered the large wooden door and found himself in the middle of a huge hall with countless shelves. On one side of the hall sat a woman at some sort of a reception desk. Shujinko walked over and saw that she was reading a book. From time to time she wrote something on a sheet in a writing he has never seen in his life.

"Excuse me," said Shujinko. "Can you help me?"

The woman continued reading, as if she didn't hear him. Just as Shujinko wanted to repeat his question, she closed her book and looked up. She appeared to be about the same age as Shujinko. She had dark eyes, and her black hair, which fell loosely over her shoulders, framed her slim face. There was a slightly hostile expression in her otherwise beautiful face, as if she hated to be disturbed while reading. But when she spoke, her voice was friendly.

"What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for documents about the Kamidogu, especially about the one of Outworld," said Shujinko.

"What's a Kamidogu?"

Shujinko then remembered the strange fact that no one in this realm has ever heard of them. "It's an artifact, created by the Elder Gods."

"Well, I can give you some documents about famous artifacts," said the woman "And I can give you plenty of documents about the Elder Gods, but I doubt you'll find anything about those Kama…"

"Kamidogu," repeated Shujinko.

"Yes, whatever," said the woman indifferently. "Come with me, then." She stood up and walked through the rows of high shelves. From time to time she just stopped and randomly took out some scrolls or books, or at least it seemed so. After a very short time she held a dozen documents in her arms.

"This should be it," she said. "These are the most important articles about the Elder Gods or artifacts," she handed them to Shujinko. "Should you need anything else, you know where to find me."

"Excuse me," said Shujinko. "What's your name?" And after a short while he added almost hastily: "I'm Shujinko."

The woman tilted her head and scrutinized him thoroughly, as if she was considering wether or not she trusted him enough to tell him her name. But then she said with a friendly smile on her face:

"Tanya, my name is Tanya."

_The presence_

Shujinko landed softly on the floor. He was standing in the courtyard now. Everything seemed to be normal out her, no guardsmen running around, no alert bell; it was a quiet night. But something inside his heart told him not to trust the silence. Somehow he knew that Mileena would come this way here if she wanted to get pass the guards, so he remained silent and concentrated at every small movement he could sense. And it was in that very second he felt something flying over his head. He raised his eyes just in time to see two figures, one next to the other, jumping from roof to roof with ease. Shujinko had to climb back up if he wanted to pursuit them. He ran towards the next wall, and when he reached it, he began to climb the wall as if it was a tree, using his both hands to aid.

In less than half a minute he reached the roof. Now he clearly saw the two figures that had stopped for a moment and were now starring right back at him. One was Mileena, dressed in a tattered pink robe. Her distorted face was uncovered, her Tarkatan features revealed. But the identity of the other one was a mystery. Shujinko could only tell it was a female. She was completely wrapped in dark clothes and wore a mask which only revealed her eyes.

"Whoever you are, surrender, and I will spare you!" asked Shujinko.

The mysterious female just stared at him, not saying a single word. And then suddenly she did her move. She grabbed Mileena's arm and whirled her over the edge of the roof. When Shujinko saw that, he reacted immediately and shot out his Kunai, a spearhead which was attached with a rope to his arm, a weapon designed after a model used by a warrior he met in the Netherrealm. But the female on the roof crossed his plan to catch Mileena with the Kunai. She tossed a boomerang with sharp blades and cut the rope to pieces. And after she caught back her boomerang, she rushed towards Shujinko and began to attack him directly.

She turned out to be one of the toughest opponents Shujinko has ever fought. Her moves were quick and almost unpredictable; she had the agility of a cat of prey. Every attack of Shujinko was either dodged or countered. The positive thing about the fight was that Shujinko was able to block all of her attacks as well; they were opponents equal in their skills.

When Shujinko realized that he probably wouldn't be able to win that fight, he changed his tactic. He opened his defense and allowed the female to get close him. When she was near him, he delivered a punch to her chest. His opponent immediately blocked it; not knowing it was just a feint. His other hand shot forward and ripped the mask off her face, and in that very moment he was looking into a face which was so familiar to him. It was the face of someone he had never suspected to do such a thing. Someone he thought he could really trust. He was so surprised that it made him speechless for a while. And when he spoke again, a single word escaped his lips:

"You!"

_The past_

Time has flown by, and he didn't even notice. Although he has not found anything, not even a single word about the Kamidogu, but he was so fascinated about the tales of the Elder Gods that he completely forgot where he was and what he was looking for in the first place. When someone cleared his throat behind him, Shujinko looked over his shoulders. The librarian named Tanya stood there. Her face was frozen like that of a marble statue.

"We're closing," she said.

"Is it already that late?" Shujinko asked surprised.

Tanya shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess so. But you can come back whenever you like." She gathered all the books and scrolls, took them in her arms and strolled away. Shujinko couldn't help to watch after her. Something about her moves was very esthetic.

When Shujinko left the building it was already dark. Lanterns spent their yellowish light to the surrounding. It was a nigh typical to Outworld, with slight breezes of wind, warm enough to wear a thin vest or a sleeveless shirt. As Shujinko walked down the main street he encountered a small group of five individuals, four males and one female. The males all wore black pants and leather boots; two of them wore some sort of armor. The other two had their chests bare, and Shujinko could see that they were covered with old scars. But the most disturbing things about them were their faces. They had inhuman features with narrow and crimson eyes. Their mouths were extremely large, filled with sharp fangs. Shujinko had already met their kind before and knew that they were Tarkatans, fierce and unpredictably dangerous nomad warriors at the service of Shao Kahn.

The woman on the other hand was completely different. She wore a very elegant costume in a similar manner of Earth Realm clothes. It was black and had a pattern on it, stitched with pink thread. A pink colored veil covered her nose and mouth. Her eyes were beautiful, yet a little bit mysterious, and Shujinko found himself wondering if the rest of her face was just as beautiful as her eyes. But what he couldn't explain at all was why a lady like her would choose the companion of Tarkatans.

As they came closer, the woman began to speak. Her voice turned out to be most uncomfortable to the ears. It was scratchy and there was something very vulgar about it.

"Now look what we have here! Isn't this a sweet boy?" she said, and the Tarkatans roared affirmatively. Then she addressed herself directly to Shujinko. "Why don't you come with us and serve little Mileena a little bit. She would reward you most generously!"

"I'm on a quest presently," said Shujinko, who had no interest to go with that obscure quintet "So I'm afraid I can't meet this Mileena, I'm sorry."

"You dare to refuse the offer?" asked the woman. "You made Mileena angry!" Immediately the four Tarkatans surrounded the young man. Shujinko's body tensed and his eyes wandered from one Tarkatan to another, ready to fend off an attack. But the woman called them back. "I will take care of him myself!" She introduced herself to Shujinko: "I am Mileena, Princess of Outworld and daughter of Shao Kahn. And when I'm done with you, I will sharpen my teeth with your bones!"

Shujinko decided to make a last attempt to avoid a battle. "I am Shujinko. I'm from Earth Realm. I have no quarrels with you, but if you wish to fight, I will fight back. As I said before, I'm on a quest, and my principals are the Elder Gods themselves. They have granted me some exquisite fighting skills…"

"Is that so?" asked Mileena sarcastically. "Well, then show me what you have!"

But before either one of them was able to make a move, they were interrupted.

"Just leave him alone, Mileena!" a female voice screamed out. It was Tanya, the librarian, and she came running in big paces.

"Ah, the Edenian bitch," said Mileena dismissively. "Stay out of my business if you know what's good for you!"

"I really would like to," replied Tanya. "But you're harassing my new assistant. And if you dare to harm him, I'll straightly go to your father and tell him what his little daughter has done. Do you think he would be amused?"

"This is your assistant?" asked Mileena in disbelief. "Since when do you have an assistant coming from the Mother Realm?"

"Why would you even bother?" asked Tanya. "Is it even forbidden to have assistants from other realms these days?"

"Of course not," said Mileena and took a last glance at Shujinko. "Your taste is not bad for someone who claims not to be interested in men, Tanya. Too bad he's not coming with us. But I guess it can't be helped," she sighed and then turned to her companions. "Now let's go and have some sorghum beer, I'm paying!" she said and walked on.

The Tarkatans roared anew and ran after her. Shujinko and Tanya continued their ways as well.

"Do yourself a favor and stop telling around you're coming from Mother Realm," said Tanya. "Otherwise you're going to find yourself dead faster than you can say your name."

"Okay, I'll remember that, thank you," said Shujinko. "So that was really the daughter of Shao Kahn?"

"Yeah, that's right. Beware of her. She's a vile creature, and her so-called friends are even worse…" suddenly Tanya changed the subject. "Say, I heard you say you're working for the Elder Gods, is that right?"

"Yes," answered Shujinko. "Why are you asking?"

"Because… you see, I'm working for one of the Elder Gods, too," said Tanya. "And I thought we could help each other."

"In what way?" asked Shujinko.

"I need to find a cave as a place of worship for the God I serve," said Tanya. "So I thought you can help me looking for it. In return I'll try to find some information on the artifacts you're looking for. What do you say?"

"Well, I guess it works for me. But I doubt that you'll have more success than I had…"

"Don't bet on it," said Tanya smiling. "I'm specialized on ancient languages, I'm sure that I can find at least something."

"Okay," said Shujinko. "That's the deal then." For some moments they walked silently. Then the young man asked: "Why does this Elder God you serve want a cave as place of worship? Wouldn't a temple be more appropriate?"

"Maybe he's just fond of nature instead of men-made architecture…" said Tanya half joking.

_The presence_

For one moment Shujinko was totally struck by surprise and his female opponent used her chance. Tanya broke out of his grip and made a flip backwards, landing two arm-lengths away from him. She just stood there, not saying a single word and looked at him with her empty eyes.

"Is this the true reason you came here?" shouted Shujinko. "You deceived me! I protected you, I hid your presence. And all you wanted was to free Mileena?"

Finally she broke her silence.

"It was just an assignment. I am not your enemy," she said calmly.

"Yeah right," replied Shujinko. "What other assignments do you have?"

"There are no other assignments!" said Tanya.

But Shujinko wasn't listening. "Maybe you came here to kidnap the queen, or to do even worse, maybe you came here to kill her…"

"I would never do such a thing," said Tanya.

"I don't believe you!" screamed Shujinko, and Tanya flinched. He fell silent, his breath went heavy. "What happened to Rhiannon back then?"

Tanya was puzzled. "You know what happened to her," she replied with a sad expression. "Why are you mentioning her now?"

When Shujinko wanted to give a reply he sensed something behind him. He whirled around just in time to block an attack from Mileena who climbed back up the roof without his notice. Mileena had been an exquisite fighter, but the long time in the dungeon had weakened her. Shujinko easily won the upper hand upon her. Tanya realized Mileena was about to lose and shot a fireball at Shujinko. He stepped sideward and dodged the projectile with ease. Tanya continued to shoot fireballs and forced him to back off from Mileena. Then she somersaulted next to Mileena and grabbed her wrist. When the general saw that she was about to escape with Kitana's evil clone, he rushed after them and made another attempt to stop them. Once more Tanya shot a projectile. This time it was no fireball, but a small dart. Shujinko swiftly caught it between his fingers, but was distracted from his primary target; and in that very moment, Tanya and Mileena both disappeared into thin air.

"Damn!" cursed Shujinko. He shouldn't have let them escape. He should have known that Tanya had the ability to turn herself and others invisible. While he tried to catch his breath he realized that a small peace of paper was attached to the dart he just caught. A single sentence was left as a massage on it:

_**BEWARE OF RAIN**_

_The past_

A few weeks have passed since Shujinko met Tanya for the first time. After those days he adapted the way of life in Lei Chen. He learned to estimate when it was save and when it was dangerous for certain things. From time to time he accepted a delivery job to earn some gems so he could pay his daily life. Whenever he was on a tour he asked around about caves he believed being suitable for Tanya's purposes.

One early afternoon someone knocked on the door of his rented apartment. When he opened the door, he saw a young woman. She was a beauty by nature, but she looked panicked in someway. There was fear in her big, dark eyes, like in the eyes of a fawn trying to escape a predator.

"Are you Shujinko?" she asked. Her voice was trembling.

"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?"

"We haven't met before," said the women. "But you must listen to me now. You should leave."

"I don't understand," said Shujinko. "Should I leave this house?"

"No, you must leave Outworld, and you must never meet Tanya again. Maybe you believe that she's your friend, but she's not," said the woman. "She manipulates the people around her to reach her own egoistic goals."

"That's not true," replied Shujinko. "We agreed to help each other. And who are you anyway? How do you know Tanya?"

"My name is Rhiannon," explained the woman. "I work for Lord Sapphiro, the magistrate of this city and I lived for some years with Tanya. Believe me; I know what I'm talking about."

"You mean you were her lover?" asked Shujinko and almost laughed out loud. "What's the true reason for your visit here? Have you come here just to tell bad things about her, because she broke up with you?"

"You have to listen to me," repeated Rhiannon. "Tanya and the daughter of Emperor Shao Kahn are working together to dispossess Lord Sapphiro. And they have vowed to kill anyone who supports him…"

"That's too bad for you!" said Shujinko sarcastically.

Suddenly Rhiannon's face changed. The panic in her eyes was replaced by defiance; even her eyes began to sparkle. "I know that I probably don't have much time left, and all I can do before I die is to be a thorn in Shao Kahn's side. But I also want to warn you: leave this place before something serious happens."

"Fine," said Shujinko who really was feeling annoyed now. "I'm perfectly warned now. And now leave my apartment. I've heard enough of this nonsense."

But his reaction only made Rhiannon more persistent, her face grew harder. "You don't understand anything. You think you've lived here long enough to know all the rules of this realm, but you know nothing. After all, you're just a wanderer in a strange land."

"I can't leave this place, even if I wanted to," replied Shujinko. "I have a task to fulfill. And you know what? Maybe you're right, maybe I'm a stranger, but I'm in a process. I'm learning to handle my problems. And I would never give up, just because there might be danger ahead."

"I'm very then sorry that I disturbed you. May the Elder Gods protect you. Farewell." After she said that, she turned around and left without saying another word. Shujinko closed the door and tried to forget that strange incidence. But he couldn't; it seemed to occupy his mind. He decided to go out for a walk in a small park which was situated an hour away.

When he arrived he saw that its gate was heavily guarded by clerks of Overlord Sapphiro. At the entry was a sign which said: "Temporarily prohibited for denizens". Some more of the clerks were running in and out busily.

"Why can't I enter?" asked Shujinko.

"A murder case has been reported just a few minutes ago," answered the clerk, a somewhat beefy man. "What a mess, it's the first case of murder in Lei Chen since the beginning of Overlord Sapphiro's term of office ten years ago. And what's even worse, she was at Sapphiro's service."

"You mean the victim is a woman?" asked Shujinko who suddenly had a bad feeling. "Who is it?"

"A young girl named Rhiannon," said the informative clerk.

Suddenly fear crawled up on Shujinko. He didn't want to listen to her and thought that she was out of her mind. But what she said turned out to be the truth. And now, just a few hours later she was dead. The big question to Shujinko was, was it also true that he was in danger? Mileena was indeed quite unsympathetic, but did she really have an interest in killing him? And why should she do so? Did he do something that crossed her plans? After a longer consideration he decided to contact Damashi and ask for his advice.

Shujinko walked home with fast steps. When he reached his home, he found his door open. He entered carefully, prepared for an attack of the intruder any time. But everything was strangely calm. Only when he entered his living room, he saw Tanya sitting in his armchair. He couldn't see her face, for it lay in the shadows. His body tensed even more. Was it true that Tanya and Mileena were working together? Was she here to kill him?

"What are you doing here?" asked Shujinko.

"I needed some company, and your door wasn't locked," her voice sounded strange, like it was out of control, and when he stepped closer he saw a big bottle in her hand. It was still filled to a quarter with a clear liquid.

"Are you okay? How much did you drink?" he asked although an answer wasn't needed.

"Some Tarkatan killed my girl, so the answer is 'No, I'm not okay'," said Tanya. Her voice was no more than a whisper. She took another gulp out of her bottle.

Shujinko found himself wondering how she could have learned from it so fast. But that was something he could concern about later. He walked up to her and said: "I think you had enough."

"Some Tarkatan killed my girl," repeated Tanya. "He ripped her to pieces with his blades, just for the fun of it. So don't tell me how much I should drink! You're not my father!" Suddenly she tossed the bottle with all her strength across the room. It shattered, and the content surged to the floor, forming a puddle. "Sorry," she said after several seconds of silence. "I didn't want to shout at you or mess up your place. I'll clean it up."

"That doesn't matter," said Shujinko.

"Yes, it does," said Tanya. "You're a good friend, maybe the only one I have."

"Thank you for your kind words, Tanya."

"Whatever," she said and struggled to stand up. She staggered a little bit, as if she was about to fall over again anytime, but she remained on her feet.

"Where are you going?" asked Shujinko.

"To the toilet, I feel like I'm going to puke," said Tanya and went away. Shortly after she closed the bathroom door, Shujinko heard some unpleasant sounds, followed by silence. He just sat down and waited, but she didn't return. After several minutes he went to look after her. She was sitting beside the toilet and leaned with her back against the wall. Her eyes were closed, but when Shujinko entered, she said:

"Don't enter a bathroom when there's a girl inside. Only naughty boys do such things."

"I have to apologize for earlier," he said. "I didn't even offer you my condolence."

"I don't care for you condolence or whatsoever," said Tanya. "You didn't know her anyway."

"You're right, I didn't know her, but I know what it is like to lose someone close to you. Believe me, I do."

"Hey, I already said we're friends, right? So stop talking about stuff like this, because if you continue, I'm going to cry, and I've cried enough for today…" She struggled once again to stand up.

"Where are you going now?" asked Shujinko.

"Home. What do you think? I want to go to bed. I'm tired, and my head feels like it's exploding anytime soon."

"You're not going anywhere," said Shujinko. "At least not in your present status."

"And what do you want to do about it? Tie me up?"

"If that's what it takes," said Shujinko.

Tanya smirked. "I knew you were a naughty boy." She staggered again.

"You can sleep in my bed," said Shujinko. "Come on, let's go!" He walked over and hugged her under.

"Fine, but keep your hands with you," said Tanya. "If you start fondling me, I'll rip out your leg bone and stab it through your throat."

The imagination of what she just said seemed so absurd to Shujinko that he laughed out loud.

"I'm serious," said Tanya.

Shujinko stopped laughing abruptly. "I won't fondle you, you can trust me."

He brought her to his bedroom and just managed to remove her boots, before she fell asleep and snored loudly.

_The presence _

Although it was past mid-night, the throne-room was packed with servants, ministers and guardians. The royal staff has rarely ever seen Princess Kitana in such an agitated state like she was in now. Mostly she was the only one who remained calm, when her ministers argued about possible solutions of political questions. She was always firm as a rock while her surrounding was in a constant turmoil. But the situation now was something completely different. Mileena was her clone, her archenemy and the only one who almost had succeeded in killing her. Her escape almost was a calamity, not only for the princess.

"How is it possible that she escaped?" she asked. Two guardians were kneeling in front of her. They avoided looking her into the face, and so they held their heads down.

"We don't know. She must have had some help," said one of the guardians.

"Yes, that's right," said the other to support his companion. "I can just recall that we were attacked by something or someone invisible. Perhaps it was the Outworld warrior named Reptile…"

"Yes, that's a possibility," said the first one. The people who were standing in the background began to whisper excitedly.

"Silence!" shouted Kitana. "You're not in a kindergarten! Do not talk until you're asked, and most of all, do not talk all at the same time!" she pointed with her finger on the second guardian. "You! Tell me what you remember!"

"Well, as I said before. We were guarding Mileena's cell door, and suddenly, we were attacked, out of nothing! And then I lost my consciousness, that's all I can say."

"That's not very much," said Kitana sarcastically.

"May I speak, Mylady?"

All the people turned their heads to the voice. Shujinko stepped out of the crowd and knelt down beside the two guardians.

"You may, General," said Kitana.

"It wasn't Reptile who helped Mileena to escape," said Shujinko. "It was a woman named Tanya."

Again, the people in the room began to whisper to each other. _Traitor_ and _heretic_ were two words that could be heard.

"Are you sure?" asked Kitana.

"Yes," answered Shujinko. "I saw her with my own eyes. She was right in front of me, but I let her escape. I should mention that I knew she was in Edenia, I should have informed you. I apologize. I await my punishment." He bowed even deeper until his head touched the ground.

The crowd began to whisper again, while Kitana remained silent. After some long minutes she said:

"Leave us alone, I want to talk to the General privately."

The ministers and servants bowed briefly and left the throne room one after the other. Only Jade remained on her seat.

"I said that I wanted to be left alone with General Shujinko, that includes you," said Kitana to the royal counselor.

"As you wish, Mylady," said Jade and left the room with the others.

"How come you know Tanya?" asked Kitana.

"I met her several years. She helped me with my quest back then," said Shujinko. "We had a bargain. She did me a favor with something, and I helped her if I could. And now it was my turn again."

"Why didn't you tell me so in the first place?" asked Kitana. "You put our trust and your own status on risk. Was it worth it?"

"I thought she was an ally," said Shujinko. "I was wrong."

"But why didn't you trust me?"

"She was marked as a traitor," answered Shujinko. "I didn't know how you would react…"

"Does my present reaction suit you better?" asked Kitana. "If you had talked to me, we could have found a solution for this problem. You disappointed me, but I won't punish you for your failure because I think I understand why you did it. You didn't want to destroy a friendship. But you're certainly wise enough to know who to trust, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mylady."

"Now go and put a troop together," ordered Kitana. "Try to find them before they are able to leave Edenia."

"Yes, Mylady," said Shujinko, he bowed once again and walked out of the throne room with big paces.

_The past_

Two weeks have past since Rhiannon's demise. Shao Kahn's Imperial Guards had executed the Tarkatan who has been found guilty, and the Emperor stressed out the fact that it was the deed of a single individual, that he condoned it in no way and that Overlord Sapphiro had his full support. The situation in the Walled City calmed down slowly, and soon the incidence was replaced by the daily affairs of the citizens.

After a day of work in the library Tanya made her way back home. But at that night she didn't take the direct way. She made a detour into a dark ally, where rarely anyone passed at nighttime. But someone already awaited her.

"You're late," said a hoarse voice.

"You know, Mileena, there are some people who indeed have a job, and they really do work instead of hanging around the whole day," said Tanya. A short moment of silence followed. "So, where's my money?"

Mileena threw a small bag at Tanya, and she looked at its content: three hundred ruby coins.

"Thanks," said Tanya. "Those definitely come in handy."

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be able to do this job," said Mileena. "For a while there, I really thought you fell in love with Rhiannon, and I wasn't sure if you could kill her."

"Love is just a kind of loyalty, and loyalty changes," said Tanya. "It happens all the time."

"And what's with that guy from Mother Realm?" asked Mileena. "I heard he keeps asking around about Rhiannon…"

"His name is Shujinko," said Tanya. "He's no threat to us. He doesn't know anything."

"If you say so," said Mileena. "By the way, we could go out for a drink if you like. I would really love to sink my teeth into your flesh…"

"Try it, and I'll pull them out, one by one," replied Tanya.

"It was just a joke, I won't bite you. After all, I'm straight, you know? But we could nonetheless have the drink, so tell me when you changed your mind, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," said Tanya and walked on, while Mileena watched her disappearing into the darkness.


	10. Chapter 9: The Return of the Queen

**CHAPTER 9: THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN**

_**7982 B.C. - Edenia**_

Queen Sindel stood in her private chamber and looked at the things she had put in front of her. A large pile of clothes was stapled on her bed, and now it was time to put them into her suitcase. She could have ordered her servants to do it for her, but she insisted on doing it herself. It was her decision to go on this long journey, and she would do it on her own way.

A feint knock came from the door, and Sindel turned around to see who it was. As she expected, it was Zerrai, one of her private servants, one that was allowed to enter the queen's private chamber at any time. Zerrai was a slim girl at the age of two hundred thirty-nine years, but she had the appearance of a seventeen years old child. She was one of Sindel's favorite servants, not only because of her flawless behavior, but most of all because she knew Zerrai's parents and grandparents as well.

"What is it?" asked Sindel.

"I wanted to ask Her Majesty if she needed help," said Zerrai.

"No, I'm perfectly fine," answered Sindel and turned back to her baggage. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mylady," said Zerrai. She didn't go back to work though, instead she remained standing in the doorway and watched the queen packing her stuff together.

"Is there something else?" asked Sindel over her shoulder.

"May I ask you another question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you really have to leave?" asked Zerrai.

Sindel wasn't able to answer immediately. She had already asked herself many times in the past few days. Did she really have to go? Should she really leave her realm and her daughter at the hands of a man she trusted less and less? The answer was yes. No matter how hard the decision was, it was the best for her child, herself and whole Edenia. It was Delia who warned her after all. It had to be done.

"Do not fear," said Sindel. "I will return as soon as possible. And please, keep the purpose of my journey secret until I come back."

"I understand," said Zerrai. "Please be careful on your trip."

"I will," replied Sindel and watched Zerrai going back to work.

_**The presence – Saruga - Edenia**_

The carriage suddenly stopped for an unknown reason and ripped Queen Sindel out of her thoughts. On the day her daughter had succeeded in freeing her from Shao Kahn's control, it was as if she awoke from a dream. Her life under the spell of the Shadow Priests seemed so far away and enshrouded in a mist. All that she knew was that she was reborn in the Mother Realm and that it happened by some dark magic which planted a seed of evil inside her heart, making her do things she never wanted to.

But then, one day it was all coming back to her. First there were only fragments, but soon they formed to a whole. When the memories became unbearable, she decided to leave for a while until she regained control over herself. Now she felt strong enough to return to her home realm and her family. Yet there were still times when the memories seemed to get overwhelming.

The queen opened the window beside her and called out to the coachman: "What's the matter? Why did we stop?"

"There are riders in front of us," answered the coachman. "One of them just descended and is now approaching us."

Sindel's body tensed automatically and she gripped to her Kwan Dao, which was hidden under her seat. She was aware that the danger of being ambushed has increased as the war against the armies of Outworld was drawing near and that she had to be more cautious than ever before.

But her concerns were unnecessary. The riders turned out to be the princess and her friend and adviser Jade. While Jade remained seated on her horse, Kitana descended and walked towards the carriage. She knelt down beside the queen's window.

"Queen Mother, please allow us to accompany you to the palace," said Kitana.

"Permission granted," said Sindel smiling. "I would be very pleased."

"Thank you, Queen Mother," said Kitana. She returned to her horse and jumped back up. The carriage continued to roll. There were no further incidents on their way.

Immediately after their arrival at the palace all the servants came by to welcome the queen. After the welcoming they were led to the dining room where the table for their meal was already prepared. Kitana and her mother took place at the long table opposite to each other. There were no others beside their servants. The first meal together belonged to their privacy. For a while they ate silently.

"So, tell me, how was life in the last few weeks?" said Sindel after a while.

"It was like always," answered Kitana. "There was an audience everyday. But these days there aren't a lot of people coming. It seems that they're busy to get prepared for the coming battle."

"And how are the strategic plans?"

"We're still working on it," said Kitana. "We haven't found the ultimate solution for the two portals yet."

"Tell me about it," said Sindel.

"Well, Shao Kahn is in control of two dimensional portals, what means that he's able to attack us from two sides," explained Kitana.

"Why don't you set up a trap?" asked Sindel. "If I'm informed correctly, one of the portals is near the Cleft Ravine. Why don't you post archers on the mountains and try to lure them through? That way you can at least decimate your enemy's forces."

"That's brilliant!" exclaimed Kitana. "That could be the key to victory. So, I will send our archers and the Shokan warriors to the ravine. For me myself, I will accompany General Shujinko and lead our forces to the Great Plains."

Queen Sindel's face became sinister on the spot. One could clearly see that she disapproved the idea of her daughter going to war along with her troops. "You have ten thousand men at your command. You don't have to participate in this battle yourself."

"This is my realm, Queen Mother. I am the princess; I have a responsibility for the people of this land."

"Yes, it's true that you have a responsibility," said Sindel. "But that does not include putting yourself in danger. Your task is to be the leader of this realm; your safety is the most important of all!"

"With all due respect, Queen Mother, we already had this discussion a thousand times before. I have made my decision. I will lead my troops to battle, with or without your accordance."

Just as Sindel wanted to give another reply, a servant entered the dining room. He bowed in front of Kitana and Sindel and said:

"Your Majesty, there are two visitors who have come to meet you."

"Really?" asked Kitana. "But I announced that there would be no audience today. They have to come again tomorrow."

"Excuse me, Mylady," said the servant. "But I assume that this is not possible. The guests are coming from Mother Realm."

"From Mother Realm?" asked Kitana. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? Is there anything else I have to know? Who are they?"

"One of them is the champion of the latest Mortal Kombat Tournament, Liu Kang; and the other one is the leader of the White Lotus Society, Kung Lao. And they came here to see your mother, the queen."

"Is that so?" asked Sindel. "Did they really come just to see me? I guess I shouldn't disappoint them, then. Tell them to wait just a few more minutes."

The servant bowed. "Yes, Mylady. As you wish."

_**The past**_

There was nothing in the world that was as pure as pain. One felt pain or one didn't, there was no half measure, nothing in between. The amazing part of the whole thing was how quickly one's body began to forget pain once it was gone. If it wasn't so, there probably would be no woman that ever wanted to have a second child, or even a third. But as soon as the pain was gone, the rapture would come and take its place. There was no mother that didn't smile at the sight of her baby, no matter how unbearable the pain of the birth was.

But for now, Sindel was wandering through the valley of pain. She was lying on a hard bed. Her legs were spread apart. A few women clad in white robes surrounded her. One sat in front of her, another one behind her head and held her hand. Others came by and brought hot water and towels.

"He's coming! Just hold on a little bit more," said the one in front of her.

Sindel gathered all her strength and pressed again. At the same time she squeezed the hand of the nurse behind her so hard it almost felt like breaking. The strain and the pain made her pump all of the air out of her lungs and took her breath. It was like her body was being torn apart. Sindel screamed.

And then, it was all over. Sindel remained on her bed, feeling her body slowly relax from the strain, while her breath was still heavy. As she rested quietly, she could hear a baby cry, and she knew that it was her child.

"Congratulation," said the nurse in front of her. "It's a healthy boy." She carried it to the queen and put it into her arms. It was an ordinary boy. There was nothing strange about his face. Nothing indicated that his father was Shao Kahn. In contrary, he looked much like Queen Sindel; he had the same dark eyes and the same features. As Sindel looked at her baby, she began to smile, and a single teardrop tickled down her cheeks.

"He's so beautiful," she whispered. "He's going to be a strong boy."

At that moment one of the nurses came back to her. "Ma'am, the boy's new parents are here."

Sindel nodded. "I see."

The nurse noticed that the queen was hesitating and asked: "Ma'am, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," answered the queen. "It's the best for him if he does not stay with me." She glanced sadly at her new born. "Goodbye, my sweet. I'm sorry that I can't be with you, but I really hope that you will be happy in your life." Then she gave the baby a last kiss on his forehead and handed him over to the nurse who carried him away.

_**The presence**_

When Sindel entered the audience hall the two Shaolin representatives stood up from their seats and knelt down before the queen.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," said Liu Kang. Kung Lao followed his example.

"Please rise," said Sindel. "It is an honor for me as well."

Liu Kang and Kung Lao took place on their seats again, while Sindel sat down opposite from them.

"You're lucky," said Sindel. "If you have come a bit earlier, you wouldn't have met me here. I have just returned from a long journey."

"We have heard from Your Majesty's trip," said Kung Lao. "I hope it was a pleasant journey."

"There are always pleasant as well as unpleasant things on such a trip," replied Sindel. "But let's talk about these matters another time. What I like to know is the reason you came here at this time. You have to know that our realm is on the verge of war..."

"This is exactly why we came for a visit," said Liu Kang. He was interrupted before he could continue; the princess had entered the room. As usual she wore her blue costume. In her right hand she held one of her steel fans and used it as a veil to cover her face.

"Tell me, Liu Kang, did you come here all the way from Earth Realm just to talk to my mother about political affairs?" she asked.

Liu Kang stood up hastily and said. "Of course not! Of course I was waiting to see you as well." He walked to her and kissed her hand. "I hope you were fine since the last time we met."

"Thank you for your regards," said Kitana. "I'm still fine."

The short conversation was followed by an uncomfortable silence, so that Kung Lao returned to their earlier subject.

"The reason we came here is that we hoped that Your Majesty could tell us something about the Undefeatable Army of the Dragon King," said Kung Lao.

"The army of the Dragon King?" asked Sindel. "You mean Onaga's army? Well, it's been quite a while since the last time someone mentioned this name. I thought he was already forgotten. But obviously there are still people who remember him..."

"The Elder Gods remember him," said Kung Lao. "It was Lord Raiden who informed us."

"Well, I have to admit that there's not much I remember," said Sindel. "It was ten thousand years ago after all; I died and was reborn in this time. My memories still are not fully restored. I'm afraid that I can't help you right now. Of course you are welcome to stay here as long as you like. It is safe in this palace. If you had come to another time, we could have shown you many beautiful places of this realm."

Kung Lao bowed once again. "We thank Your Majesty for her kindness."

Kitana sighed and stood up, as if the conversation annoyed her. "I need some fresh air. I'm going out for a walk," she said. "Would you like to come with me, Liu Kang?"

"Of course," said Liu Kang. "I would love to accompany you very much."

"Alright then," said Kitana. "Follow me."

The garden was situated behind the palace. It was a peaceful place with trees, flowers and small ponds. It was designed by skilled architects in ancient times, and every element of it showed itself in perfection.

Kitana and Liu Kang walked silently one next to another. Liu Kang breathed the clear fresh air, closed his eyes and imagined that he was in a realm of undisturbed and perfect peace. It only lasted a few seconds before Liu Kang was pulled back to reality.

"It's been a while since we last met and walked like that," said Kitana. "A lot of things happened since then…"

"Yes, that's true," said Liu Kang.

"And there are even more to come," said the princess. She turned her head towards Liu Kang and looked him straight in the eyes. He could see clearly her sorrows in them.

"Are you worried about the battle?" asked Liu Kang.

"These days, the people are looking up to me. They believe that I am strong, that I will lead them to freedom and that I am able to take away their fear and ease their mind. In their eyes I'm a hero, someone invincible, but I'm not. My soldiers believe that I can give them strength, but who is there to give me strength? Who takes away my fears?"

Liu Kang didn't answer. He could almost feel the pain inside of her from her words.

"In times when I'm with my people I'm thinking that we are definitely going to win. There's nothing more doubtless than that. But when I'm alone again this high feeling disappears and I ask myself: What if I fail? Then I'm thinking that we'll lose, and we will all die…"

"Yes, you're right," said Liu Kang. "We will all die, but not today, and not in this battle!"

Kitana began to smile. "Thanks, you made me feel better."

"And you know what? I will be the one."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Kitana.

"I will be the one who gives you strength," said Liu Kang. "When you are afraid, I'll ease your mind, and when you fall, I will hold you."

"Thank you," repeated Kitana. She turned towards Liu Kang. For a while, they just stood there silently. And then, almost imperceptibly, they both moved their heads towards another, very slowly, as if every second was precious. But just before their lips touched, Liu Kang pulled back.

"I can't do that," he said. "I'm sorry. It has nothing to do with you, I just can't. Sorry." He turned away hastily and left the princess back alone in the garden.

When Liu Kang reentered the palace he met Kung Lao in the main hallway who was carrying his stuff to a chamber.

"Hey, I've already been looking for you," said Kung Lao. "How was the walk with your girlfriend?"

"Kitana is not my girlfriend!" replied Liu Kang in a harsh tone.

"Okay, okay, no reason for being offended!" said Kung Lao. "So, how was it anyway?"

"Fine," said Liu Kang.

"Fine?" asked Kung Lao. "Nothing else? Just fine?"

"What the hell do you want to hear?" asked Liu Kang. He sounded almost furious about Kung Lao's questioning.

Kung Lao stopped and took a close and sorrowed look at his companion. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You changed," said Kung Lao. "Everything about you is so different now, and I'm not sure if I like it."

"Think of me what you like!" said Liu Kang. "I don't have to justify myself in front of you!" He walked pass Kung Lao, before he could say anything further.

_**Later that day**_

Queen Sindel was in her room, organizing her clothes of the journey when she heard a knock on the door. She stood up from her chair and opened the door. Liu Kang was standing in the door.

"Excuse me, Mylady," he said. "I hope I don't disturb you."

"Not at all," said Sindel.

"May I speak to you privately?" asked Liu Kang.

"Sure," said Sindel. She opened the door wide and Liu Kang stepped in. "Please, have a seat. What is it you want to talk about?"

The Shaolin took seat on a chair, and Sindel sat down, too. For a few seconds Liu Kang remained silent, as if he was trying to find the right words. "I wanted to ask Your Majesty for allowance to follow Kitana into the coming battle against Outworld."

It took a moment before Sindel answered. "Why do you want to go?"

"I have my private reasons," said Liu Kang. "Forgive me, but I can't tell you."

"Is the reason love?" asked Sindel. "Because if it is, then it's the worst reason ever to make such a decision."

"It is not love," said Liu Kang. "Please, don't misunderstand me. I do love Kitana, but this is not the reason. As I said before, I have private reasons to do so."

"I understand," said Sindel. "You have to know that I do not condone in any way the fact that my daughter participates in the battle. But still, I can't forbid it. She's no longer a child, and she's able to make her own decisions. I have no right to hold her back. What right do I have then to hold you back?"

Liu Kang rose from his chair and bowed deeply in front of Queen Sindel. "I thank you, Mylady."

"There is no need to thank me," said Sindel. "I hope you will return well."

When Liu Kang turned to leave the room, Sindel called him back. "I don't know your motivation," she said. "But I can feel that you're fighting your own battle deep within your soul. I hope that you come to peace before it's too late."

Liu Kang nodded. "I hope so, too," he said.

_**The past**_

Something was definitely not right. Shao Kahn was behaving much too friendly. In the days right after Sindel's return he treated her in a way like never before. He fulfilled her every wish even before she spoke them out. It was almost as he was replaced by someone who looked exactly like him, but who was not him, a much friendlier version of her husband. At the same time something inside Sindel warned her and told her to be careful.

That evening Shao Kahn had his servant prepare a dinner. And after they had brought Kitana to bed, they sat down in the dining hall. There were several candles enlightened on the table, and they had Edenian wine with their meal.

"So, what's the reason for all this?" asked Sindel.

"There is none," answered Shao Kahn. "Must there always be a reason?"

"No," said Sindel. "Sorry, I was just curious."

"Maybe you're right," said Shao Kahn. "Maybe I have my reasons. Maybe I'm just glad that you returned after such a long time. Maybe I missed you."

"Really?" asked Sindel laughing. "I can hardly believe that."

"I really missed you," said Shao Kahn. "I mean, I'm a man, after all. I wanted to be strong and to wait patiently, and I swear that I didn't touch any other woman. But when I was alone at night, I wondered where you might have been, and I asked myself what you were doing at that moment…"

"You know where I was and what I did during my journey."

"Of course I knew what you told me," said Shao Kahn. "And still I asked myself if you would have gone away to hide something from me…"

"I didn't hide anything from you."

"Don't get me wrong," said Shao Kahn. "Those were just thoughts that I had. I wondered what it was that you hid from me. But then it came to my mind: it was something that wasn't immediately there, but something that could be seen long before it came to existence, such as a child."

Sindel noticed that the conversation was going in a direction she definitely didn't want it to. But she managed to stay calm. "Don't be ridiculous, I didn't have contact with any other man, either."

"Of course, I know that," said Shao Kahn. "But what if it was my son, what if you were pregnant from me?"

"This is absolutely absurd!" shouted Sindel.

"Really?" asked Shao Kahn sarcastically. "It appears more than realistic to me. You always hated me, and giving birth to my son would mean that he inherits the throne instead of Kitana. And you had to prevent that, so you gave away my son! He was my son!"

At that moment Sindel knew that the dices have fallen. She had no more chance to deny the truth. "How did you learn about it?"

Shao Kahn answered with another question. "Loyalty is something great, don't you think? You can entrust everything to someone loyal to you, even your life. But sometimes loyalty can be broken, either by reward or by punishment…"

"Zerrai!" exclaimed Sindel. It crossed her mind that she didn't see her in the passed few days. Some other servants told her that she was ill. Obviously that was not the complete truth.

"Ah yes, Zerrai! She was such a lovely girl…" said Shao Kahn.

"What have you done with her?" asked Sindel hysterically.

"Let me put it that way: We had a little conversation," said Shao Kahn. "It was just too bad that she was so stubborn. She wouldn't accept any reward for a betrayal. So I had to do something to loosen her tongue. She wasn't all that pretty anymore after I was done with her. And you know what?" Shao Kahn paused, as if he wanted to enjoy the taste of every single word he spoke. "She was begging for her life when she told me what I wanted to know."

Sindel felt sick to her stomach. "You bastard," she whispered. "You damn bastard!"

Shao Kahn leaned back in his seat, smirking devilish, ate a small piece of his steak and drank a small sip of wine. "Don't you want to try your meal? It's excellent. Remind me to give a little bonus of gold coins to the cook."

"What are you planning to do now?" asked Sindel. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Are you going to torture me as well? Is this my last meal?"

Shao Kahn laughed out loud, as if he had just heard a fine joke. "Hell, no! I would never do anything like that to you. You are my wife, how do I look like when it comes out that I tortured my own wife?" He stopped laughing abruptly. "But I want you to know that I always get what I want. I have my own ways." He put another piece of meat into his mouth. "Mm, you should really try this. This is worth dying for!"

But Sindel remained motionless on her chair. She felt everything falling from her grip. She had thought that her plan was safe, not perfect, but still good. Once again it seemed that Delia was right after all: No one could change his fate, or even escape from it. And so Sindel sat on the spot for the whole night. She didn't even notice that Shao Kahn stood up and went to bed after he had finished dinner.

Sindel was still sitting in the dining room, when the servants came the next morning to prepare breakfast. The first thing they noticed about the queen was that her hair had changed from black to bright white.

"Mylady? Are you alright? What happened to your hair?" asked one of them with concern in his voice.

"It's nothing," answered Sindel. She wrapped a streak of her hair around a finger and looked at it like hypnotized. "I'm fine, just fine."

"Should we prepare breakfast then?" asked one of the servants.

Sindel awoke from her numbness again. "Of course, go ahead. I'm on the balcony to catch some fresh air."

"As you wish, Mylady," said the servant and started working.

Queen Sindel walked through the palace as if she was in a trance. When she came into the bedroom she saw Shao Kahn sleeping and heard him snoring noisily. She walked tip-toed pass the bed and went out to the balcony. A fresh breeze of air blew against her face and instantly cleared her mind. She knew now what she had to do. She wished she had more time, she wished to see her daughter one last time. Kitana was probably already up and reading in her books, like she always did before breakfast. But if she went to her daughter, she would probably guess what she was planning, and try to prevent it. Sindel knew that she couldn't stay alive. Sooner or later she would die by the hand of Shao Kahn. She wanted to end her life herself, she wanted at least to have the dignity to choose her own end. And she wanted to make it as hard as possible for Shao Kahn to find his son.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She wasn't afraid anymore; her fear has fallen off. Everything was clear now. A smile appeared on her lips when she jumped over the balustrade…

_**The presence**_

Kung Lao was known for his quiet attitude. There were very few occasions when he got enraged. But this was one of them. The whole time he has been wondering about Liu Kang's strange behavior, and now he heard of something that made the case even worse. It was time for a serious conversation between them.

"How could you do such a thing?" he asked while walking up and down anxiously. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

But Liu Kang acted totally unimpressed. "Could you please stop running around like a headless chicken and sit down? You're making me nervous."

Kung Lao stopped and looked straight into Liu Kang's eyes. He was sitting casually in one of two chairs next to his bed. It was a large and soft one. Obviously the queen wanted her guests to feel as comfortable as possible. Ignoring what Liu Kang just said, Kung Lao then continued pacing from one end of the room to the other.

"I don't know what happened", he said. "But something about you changed… How can you be so selfish?"

"What do you know about selfishness?" asked Liu Kang. "I want to do something to help. Is this selfishness? I think not."

"So it's just an act of charity? And if so, why didn't you accept Kitana's offer the last time? Why didn't you come with her and help her with the restoration? That would have been true charity. But now it seems to me that you just want to show off in front of your girlfriend. That's pathetic…"

"I said it before: Kitana is not my girlfriend!" said Liu Kang.

"And what about Raiden's order not to interfere in this war?" inquired Kung Lao further. "Have you forgotten what he told us?"

"Why are you doing this?" replied Liu Kang. "Why are you sucking up to Raiden? What has he ever done for you?"

"I beg your pardon?" said Kung Lao who couldn't believe what he just heard.

"You understood me perfectly well. O yes, Lord Raiden is so great, he knows everything. He never fails," said Liu Kang sarcastically. "But you know what? It's always been us to do the dirty jobs." His voice grew louder bit by bit. "Where was he in the first tournament? Where was he when we went to Outworld all the years back? Where was he when Shao Kahn marched into Earth Realm? All that he is good for is to give orders and stupid comments. I'd say that's enough!" Liu Kang exploded. He hit his palm with full strength on the table. "Never again will I take any orders from him. From now on, I will plan my life by myself. Do you understand?"

Kung Lao took a few steps backward, unable to say anything else. Without saying a word he left Liu Kang's room. While Liu Kang slowly calmed down again, there was a knock on his door again.

"What do you still want?" shouted Liu Kang and ripped the door open, just to fall silent again immediately. The one at the door was not Kung Lao, but Kitana. She was dressed in a white kimono of some shiny material and sandals. Her hair was made up in the fashion the geishas used to wear in the ancient Japan.

"I just saw Kung Lao passing by," said Kitana. "He really seemed to be upset. So if it's inconvenient for you right now, I'll come another time."

"No!" said Liu Kang. "It is not inconvenient at all. Please come in."

Kitana entered the room, and Liu Kang offered her a seat. The princess slowly sat down, as if every single move of hers was well considered.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "What was it that made him so furious?"

"O, it was nothing," replied Liu Kang. "Just a small argument between friends. He'll get over it."

"I'm sure he will," said Kitana. She paused for a moment. "Was it because of your decision of participating in the coming battle?"

Liu Kang was caught by surprise. "You already know about it?"

"Of course I know," said Kitana. "My mother immediately told me. Liu Kang, you don't have to do this. This is not your crusade."

"But this is what I want to do," said Liu Kang. He walked to the window and looked outside, although it was already dark. "When you asked me if I wanted to come with you I turned the offer down. I said that my true duty was in Earth Realm. But the truth is I was afraid. I feared the changes that were coming towards me. I feared that I would never see my home again once I went with you. I know that I have been foolish. I shouldn't have left you. Now I'm here, I won't run away anymore. I will protect you…"

"I don't want you to protect me," said Kitana softly. "I have enough guardians to do it. I just want you to be close to me, because I'm human in the first place, and princess only in the second." She stood up, walked over to Liu Kang and turned him around so that he faced her again. She opened her kimono, and dropped it to the floor. Standing completely nude in front of Liu Kang, she softly took his hand and put it on her chest. "I'm made of flesh and blood just like you," she whispered. "Can you feel my warmth, or my heartbeat?"

Liu Kang nodded.

"So, treat me like a woman, not like a princess," continued Kitana whispering. "Because I already have enough servants. Unless some sort of Shaolin-codex forbids you to have a relationship to a woman."

For a while both remained motionless. Then Liu Kang stepped forward and embraced Kitana while she began to undress him. While doing it, she became faster and faster until she tore at his clothes as if she was driven. In the middle of it Liu Kang raised his hands, and she paused for a moment.

"What if… what if your mom comes in?" he asked.

Kitana giggled like a teenage girl. "She won't, unless you asked her to come."

Liu Kang moved closer to Kitana and whispered: "I will never leave you again, I swear it."

"I know," said the princess.

_**The next day**_

When Liu Kang woke up Kitana was already gone. Everything appeared some sort of unreal to him. All that she left was a small handwritten note on the nightstand. It said:

_Good morning, Liu Kang!_

_Sorry that I couldn't wait for you. I guess my duties are never on vacation. The breakfast is in the Great Hall. There is a weapon and armor distribution afterwards. We see each other at lunch, if you like._

_Love, Kitana_

Liu Kang took a shower and got dressed. Suddenly he felt such happiness that he began to whistle. All the sorrows of the past days seemed to have left him. It was almost like he was under the influence of some drugs. But after events of the past few days, he welcomed this light-headed feeling. On the way to the Great Hall he met Kung Lao who was also on his way to the breakfast.

"Hey, you look happy," he discovered.

"You're right, I am," answered Liu Kang.

"Is it because of your girlfriend?" asked Kung Lao. "O, sorry, you don't like it if I call Kitana your girlfriend…"

"No, that's okay," said Liu Kang. "It's me who should apologize to you. I've said many things yesterday I wished I haven't. My behavior was incorrect, too. I'm sorry."

Kung Lao took a long look at Liu Kang; then he smiled and gave a brotherly slap on Liu Kang's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about that. We're friends, that's all what counts. And I wanted to tell you something else. I've decided to go with you."

"Really?" asked Liu Kang. "But you don't have to do it. If I get into trouble with Raiden, that's okay, but…"

"Stop!" said Kung Lao. "Either we both go or none of us go."

Liu Kang thought about it and nodded. He gave Kung Lao his hand, and Kung Lao replied the gesture.

After the breakfast both Shaolin monks were called to the strategy room, where they met General Shujinko for the first time. As always he was dressed in the military uniform. When Liu Kang and Kung Lao entered the room, he was sitting in a heavy chair and already waiting. On a table in front of him was a big rolled map.

"So, you both are the new ones?" he asked with a slightly hoarse voice.

"That's right," said Liu Kang and introduced himself and his companion.

"Good, I'm General Shujinko. You'll be under my command during the battle. I don't care what special relationship you have with the queen or the princess. I'll treat you just like anyone else of my men. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" both answered synchronal.

"Now, I called you here to give you an idea of our plan," said Shujinko. He gave a sign with a hand to let them step closer to the table and opened the map. It was a detailed sketch of the landscape of Edenia. A black circle represented the capital, Saruga. Near it were two red circles. "Those are dimensional portals," explained the general. "One is to the north, near a canyon. The other one is to the south, on the highlands. This one is much larger than the one to the north. That's why we believe the main event will take place on the highlands. This is our destination."

"What about the other portal?" asked Liu Kang.

"We have arranged with our new allies, the Shokan, that they deal with it. There are many archers among them, and they are excellent climbers. So we will use that to our advantage," Shujinko paused a second. "Now let me tell you something about our enemies. Shao Kahn's army consists mainly of demon soldiers, what means they are no humans. They're strong, but not invincible. They're not too bright, but not completely stupid, neither. Just don't underestimate them. Any questions?"

"No, Sir!" said Liu Kang and Kung Lao at the same time.

"Good, now go and get your weapons," said Shujinko. "Afterwards you may enjoy the rest of the day. We're going to depart tomorrow afternoon. Be prepared!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Shujinko watched as the former Shaolin monks left the room. After a moment Sindel entered the room. She was dressed in a fancy dark red dress and wore a silver diadem in her hair.

"Now, what do you think about them?" she asked.

"They have both the will and the spirit to fight, and they're disciplined," answered Shujinko. "I'm less worried about them than about the princess." The general paused for some seconds. "She's still in contact with the Priestess of Shinnok. If things go on like this, whole Edenia will end up in a calamity."

Sindel nodded. "I see. You don't have to concern yourself with that. When the time has come, I'll deal with it personally." She turned and was about to leave the room, when Shujinko posed another question:

"By the way, who is Rain?"

Sindel seemed to be considering about an answer for some time, before she laughed and said: "Come on, General, even kids know what rain is!" Having said that, she left the strategy office.

_**The Past**_

Fifteen years were a long time, even for someone who was virtually immortal. Ever since the day Queen Sindel had decided to set an end to her life, Shao Kahn has been relentlessly searching for the child she had born. To him it wasn't just a mere child, but his son, his very own heir. Again and again he had sent out troops to look for his traces. And in the end, the saying has been proved right once again:

The patient ones will be rewarded.

It was already deep at night, but Shao Kahn was still sitting in the throne hall, waiting silently for his riders to return. They had already sent a message that they were going to arrive that very night. Suddenly the large door was opened, and a man in a long dark robe entered. The shadow priest walked up to the throne, fell on his knees and bowed down until his forehead touched the floor.

"Your Majesty," he said without changing his position. "He's here."

"Let him in," said Shao Kahn.

The shadow priest stood up and called out: "The boy may enter!"

For a while, nothing happened. But then the door slowly opened and a boy entered. He walked up until he stood in line with the shadow priest and bowed just as the priest did before.

"My lowness greets His Majesty," he said.

"Ha! Look at his manners! He's well educated," said Shao Kahn happily. "Now rise, I want to see your face."

"Yes, Mylord." The boy did as he was told. He was not too short, but not that tall neither, considering Shao Kahn's height. He was sportive and his body athletic. His black hair was held in a short fashion. His adoptive parents were not all that poor, for he wore an elegant ruby colored suit.

"You know why you're here?" asked Shao Kahn.

"Yes, the people here said that His Majesty is my real father," said the boy.

"Yes, that's right," said Shao Kahn.

"They also say that my mother died shortly after I was born," he continued.

"Yes, I'm afraid that this is true as well," said Shao Kahn. "We can discuss this matter another time. Let's talk about you now. Tell me, do you have any plans for the future?"

"I'm planning to visit a military academy," the boy said with sparkling eyes. "I want to become a great general."

"I'm sure you will, and you will get even more," Shao Kahn paused to emphasize his words. "Look around you. One day, this all will belong to you. And not only that..." He took down his helmet and said: "One day, it will be you who wears this. We'll see each other again when you finished your education, and then we will talk about everything you want to know. But until that day, you'll have to wait patiently. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded, when the shadow priest gave a sign that his time was over. He bowed one last time and was about to leave the hall, when Shao Kahn called him back.

"I still don't know your name, son," he said.

"It's Reiko, Mylord," answered the boy.

"Reiko? Isn't that a girl's name?" asked Shao Kahn half kidding.

"Names are of no great importance," answered the boy seriously. He didn't take it as a joke. "My father once said that a man should not be judged by his appearance or even by his name, but only by his deeds."

"Your father must be a really wise man," said Shao Kahn.

"Yes, I wish I could one day be as wise as him," said Reiko.

Shao Kahn remained in his seat, even as the boy was already long gone. Something about Reiko moved his heart. He had found pleasure in that short conversation they had, and he felt pride for his son. But this was just the beginning, he had great plans with him...


End file.
